Pokémon Spring & Autumn
by ThuribleOD
Summary: Liam is a third culture kid (TCK) starting at a new school in a new country. He's also a Pokemon trainer, and between learning about his new friends, catching new Pokemon, and adjusting to life in the Nanzo region, he has more than enough to keep him busy without the mysterious whispers about "Team Power" that may mean more to him than he realizes.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Pokemon Spring and Autumn features a large cast of original characters. For a quick-reference guide to the main and secondary cast, check out my author profile.

* * *

Only the feeling of the driver's hand patting Liam awake made him realize that he had fallen asleep on the way to school. Liam was surprised; but jetlag seemed to have outweighed nervousness and left him dozing like a well-fed Snorlax. Somehow, that made Liam feel more confident. He shook himself slightly, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and thanked the driver. Gripping his small canvas bag, Liam stepped out of the passengers side door and took his first look at his new school in a new country.

Everspring International Pokemon Academy seemed to be in an older part of its namesake city, surrounded by gray, almost brutalist apartment blocks. The main gate to the school was topped with its name in red and black lettering, with a small shack for the school guard at one side. A shaggy Mightyena on a chain lounged in the shade cast by the guard shack, Beyond the gate, Liam could see clusters of students talking excitedly in the school courtyard. Some were very young, perhaps only five or six, while others looked older than he was. Each of them had at least one Pokeball, either attached to their belt or dangling from their backpack.

In the five seconds since he had arrived, none of the talking students had noticed the very self-conscious new kid in the black sweatshirt, and he was fine with that. To be unnoticed wasn't quite to belong, but it was preferable to being noticed and awkwardly acknowledged. Liam knew that international schools were usually small enough for everyone to have a place; he just needed the time to watch and find it for himself. So Liam stepped through the gate as confidently as possible, feeling the Pokeballs on his belt for comfort.

"Hey!"

Liam jumped slightly. He had barely made it a foot through the school gate before a thin boy with white hair and bright blue eyes had spotted him and started walking towards him.

"Uh, hey," said Liam. His pretense of confidence was shaken, but he had avoided falling to pieces.

"You are Liam, right?" asked the boy. Liam noticed an accent he couldn't place, but decided not to comment on it. You weren't supposed to notice things like that in an international school.

"Uh, yeah," said Liam.

"Good. I'm Vasilio."

Liam smiled in relief.

"Yeah, my parents told me you'd be looking for me," said Liam, sheepishly. Vasilio winked back at him.

"You're in my year, right? Ninth grade?"

"Yeah," said Liam.

"Sweet," said Vasilio, "We need more guys. We've been two-to-one for the girls as long as I've been here."

Liam smiled at the ratio, but quickly checked himself.

"How long is that?" Liam asked..

"Since kindergarten. My family moved here from Fiore when I was three. I can't really remember living anywhere other than Nanzo. You just came from Johto, right?"

"Yeah," said Liam, "We moved here from Olivine City a few days ago. I can't really remember Unova, even though it's supposed to be my home country."

Liam made scare quotes around the last two words.

"I get that feeling," said Vasilio, "and so will everyone here. We are all just as confused as your average global wanderer."

"Some of us more than others," said a voice from over Liam's shoulder. He turned to see a girl of about his own age, but much shorter, with shoulder-length black hair and a strange arch to her eyebrows. Liam did his best not to notice just how pretty she was. He wanted to start any new friendships in Everspring with minimal drooling.

"Mori," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes, "I think it's customary to introduce yourself before butting into conversations."

The girl flicked Vasilio and fixed her dark eyes on Liam. He hoped he wouldn't start sweating.

"Hello, tall new boy from Johto," she said playfully, "I'm edgy adopted girl from Hoenn. Welcome to the loony bin."

"This is Liam," said Vasilio, "His parents are friends with mine. Liam, this is Mori. She's in our grade too."

'So, Johto?" said Mori, eagerly, "Ever been to Ecruteak?"

"Yeah," said Liam, still unsure what to make of Mori and not wanting to let her glances pull on his heartstrings after only a few minutes' acquaintance, "Olivine's about as close as you can get. I sometimes went up there on weekends to watch gym battles."

Liam must have said something right, because Mori raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"I'm a Morty fangirl," she said confidentially, but without really lowering her voice. "I love ghost Pokemon."

Liam noticed that she was wearing a purple Gengar backpack with three Pokeballs hanging from the side. Her backpack was the only thing she wore that wasn't black, from her choker to the laces on her shoes.

"So I see."

At that moment, the school bell rang across the yard.

"First class?" asked Liam, trying not to sound too apprehensive.

"Not today," said Vasilio, starting across the school yard towards the main building, "It's the first day of the new semester, so there's an all-school assembly."

"Ah," said Liam. Vasilio correctly interpreted the sound.

"There is a chance you might get introduced," said Vasilio, "but you won't be the only new student."

"International schools should have revolving doors," said Liam, smirking.

"He gets it," said Mori dryly, sliding black headphones over her ears as they walked into the school together.


	2. Chapter 2

The main door of the school building led to an open courtyard covered by a boxy glass ceiling and overlooked by three levels of classrooms. Flags from nations all around the whole hung from the balconies. The courtyard itself was filled with folding chairs, but Liam recognized the painted white lines on red asphalt of a Pokemon League-official field beneath the seats. He, Vasilio, and Mori sat down at the back.

"Is this room usually for battles?" asked Liam.

"Yeah," said Vasilio. "The school has these three indoor fields, plus with four more on the concrete outside. These are the ones we normally use. We meaning the high school."

Mori still had her headphones on and was ignoring their conversation.

"How often do we get to battle?" asked Liam.

"There's sparring every day," said Vasilio, "but that doesn't mean everyone gets a chance to battle. Plus, it's mostly instructional stuff. Battles aren't much fun when the teacher is watching with a clipboard."

"Can we battle at recess?" asked Liam.

"Nope," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes slightly. "They say our Pokemon are here to learn too, or something like that."

"I guess that makes sense," said Liam, looking over the students seating in front of them to a small stage where a large, curly-haired woman in a floral qipao had just stepped up to a podium.

"Good morning, and welcome back, students of Everspring International Pokemon Academy!" she said eagerly. Many of the students cheered and clapped; Vasilio was busy flicking Mori to take her headphones off.

"We had a great semester as a school last year," she continued, "and it's amazing to see how far you and your Pokemon have come. Two of our seniors got their eighth gym badge…"

An older student a few rows up let out a loud "Woooo!" provoking scattered laughter and applause. The woman paused, smiled, and continued.

"...and every student in our new freshman class earned at least one gym badge."

"We had to drag Mori into her one badge," mumbled Vasilio with a smirk. Mori didn't respond. She seemed to have sunk into a mood since they entered the building, and was ignoring both Liam and Vasilio completely, even with her headphones off. Vasilio appeared unphased.

"As with every new semester," continued the woman at the podium, "We have new students joining us at the Academy. If you are a new student, please stand up!"

Liam couldn't think of anything in the world he wanted to do less than stand up in a room full of strangers, but Vasilio nudged him forward out of his seat, and he slowly got to his feet. The applause and cheering that welcomed him and the other new students was almost overwhelming. He saw at least one other student around his age poke the person next to her and point at him, but they all seemed pleased.

As Liam sat back down, he couldn't help but notice that while Vasilio had clapped loudly, Mori was still sitting in silence. Liam wondered if he had done something to offend her without realizing it. Vasilio still took no notice of his friend's odd behavior, however, so Liam reasoned that he at least didn't find her silence unusual.

"Welcome to you all, and we hope you will soon feel that this school is your home as much as we do," said the woman, smiling broadly. "Everspring International Pokemon Academy prizes not only excellence but also integrity, creativity, and service. So let us serve you so that you can in turn serve others."

"She seems… enthusiastic," muttered Liam.

"That's Ms. Kahakai, our principal," said Vasilio, leaning over slightly and lowering his voice. "And she is enthusiastic. At least she stayed, though. We had three principals in three years before she showed up. She is not much of a Pokemon trainer, but she believes in this place."

"Amazingly enough," muttered Mori.

Liam glanced over at her. She was slumped in the chair next to him, her head propped up by her right arm. Up on the stage, Ms. Kahakai continued.

"I now turn the microphone over to our student body president, Mr. Arthur Liu."

She and all the rest of the school applauded vigorously as a tall student with short black hair took the podium. He grinned embarrassedly, as if he didn't feel he deserved either the title or the welcome.

"Hey guys," he mumbled. He few students laughed and whistled.

"I just got a few announcements from the Student Council."

He cleared his throat, and seemed to transform from a goofy teenager to a responsible president as he pulled a folded paper out of his jacket.

"Lock-in is the last Friday before Lunar New Year Break. Be there or, uh, be square."

Vasilio chuckled.

"Banquet is in May," Arthur continued, "find a partner for you and your Pokemon."

"Arthur, will you go to-!" began a girl from the front, shouting at the top of her voice.

"Liz, I'm already going to Banquet with you," interrupted Arthur, as several upperclassmen nearly fell off their chairs laughing.

"Finally," he continued, as the loud sobs of laughter from the older students finally subsided, "Pokelympics is March 10th. It's open to all grade levels. Register if you have not done so already. Principal Kahakai."

Arthur jumped down off the stage as Ms. Kahakai returned to the podium.

"Thank you, Arthur," she said, still smiling widely. "Students, you may now go to your homerooms. Have an excellent semester. You… are…"

She paused meaningfully.

"...dismissed."

The assembled students scurried to their feet, including Vasilio and Mori.

"So, class now?" asked Liam.

"For us," said Vasilio, "I think you need to go see Christine."

"Who?"

"The real principal of this school," said Mori. Her mood seemed have brightened.

"She's the guidance counselor," said Vasilio, "Elementary and middle school kids call her 'Miss Snyder,' but you can get away with Christine if you know her."

"Which I don't," said Liam.

"You will," said Vasilio, "We'll point you to her office."

"Also known as the student lounge," said Mori, as they walked up the main stairs together.


	3. Chapter 3

Liam knocked hesitantly on Miss Snyder's door. Vasilio and Mori had pointed him to the right place, he was sure, but inviting himself into the office of a person he didn't know still made him feel foolish. Standing outside the guidance counselor's office without his new friends also reminded him that he was still a newcomer and an outsider.

"Excuse me."

A woman with her arms full of books and binders was pushing past Liam and fumbling her keys to unlock the door. Her squarish face was covered with freckles, while her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"You're Liam, right?" she said, as the office door swung open and she deposited her pile of books on her desk.

"Yeah," said Liam.

"I'm Miss Snyder," she said, gesturing him to sit on a low sofa as she strode across the room and shut the door. "It would be weird for you to call me Christina, but most of the older kids that have been around call me that. Just so you know who they're talking about."

She sat down behind her desk and pulled a small folder out of one of the larger binders. She passed the first paper in the folder to Liam.

"That's your class schedule," said Miss Snyder, "It's all normal classes; 9th grade doesn't really get to choose. Your locker number and combination is on the bottom."

Liam nodded as Miss Snyder opened her laptop.

"Now," she said, "A couple things you'll need to know as a student. One of the graduation requirements for students is to earn all eight gym badges in the Nanzo region. Have you ever earned a gym badge before?"

Liam shook his head, feeling self-conscious.

"That's okay," said Miss Snyder, typing a few sentences, "You're not too far behind. High school students can pick up one badge per semester and still graduate on time. You'll just need to get two this semester to get back on track. What Pokemon do you have?"

Liam set the two Pokeballs from his belt on the small coffee table in front of him.

"Eevee was my first Pokemon," said Liam, "I'm hoping to evolve him into an Umbreon soon. Sneasel is my other Pokemon. I caught him when I went with my dad to Mt. Silver last year."

"Just the two?" asked Miss Snyder. There wasn't anything accusative in her voice, but Liam still felt slightly ashamed.

"I don't like catching Pokemon I don't plan on using," said Liam. He realized he sounded a little combative, but Miss Snyder didn't take offense.

"Hey, you do you," she said, continuing to type, "But I'd recommend getting a third Pokemon soon. You'll need it if you're going to start challenging gyms."

"They don't have Houndours in Nanzo, do they?" asked Liam. He was feeling a little anxious about his prospects at the Academy.

"No," said Miss Snyder, smiling slightly, "Not wild anyway. But Alolan Rattatas moved into the city a few years ago."

Liam sniffed. Miss Snyder stopped typing and looked at him with a serious, but sympathetic look.

"If you like Dark type Pokemon," she said, "You'll find plenty in Nanzo. But you should consider catching other kinds of Pokemon. That'll make you a stronger trainer."

Liam nodded, more in the hopes of dropping the subject than out of agreement.

"Well," said Miss Snyder, "all your credits transferred fine, but I know coming into classes mid-year is hard, so let me know if you need extra support."

"Okay," said Liam, knowing full well he wasn't going to ask for help.

"It's almost time for period two," said Miss Snyder, "You can see where you need to go from your schedule."

Liam picked up his backpack to leave.

"Oh, one more thing," said Miss Snyder, looking down at the folder Liam took by be his student file, "Do you have a team?"

"Sorry?" said Liam.

"Are you on a team?"

"I… don't know what that means," said Liam, sheepishly. Miss Snyder motioned for him to close the door and sit back down.

"It's not a problem" explained Miss Snyder, leaning forward as Liam sat back down apprehensively. "Lots of trainers in Nanzo belong to Pokemon teams. They're kind of like clubs that specialize in Pokemon battling. There's lots of perks to joining one, but it's not a requirement."

"I'm still confused," said Liam.

"Well," said Miss Snyder, "Maybe it would be better to explain it this way."

She pulled out a blank sheet of paper and wrote "Truth," "Balance," and "Virtue" across the top of it, and divided the paper into three columns.

"Each of the three teams," she began, pen in hand, "is based on one of the Hundred Schools of Battle from Nanzo's early history."

Liam's eyes brightened.

"During the Warring States period?" he asked, raising his eyebrows knowledgeably.

"Yeah," Miss Snyder replied, "Back then, they were called schools. Now, they're called teams."

She began to write in the first column as she spoke.

"Team Truth believes that Pokemon battles are about the Pokemon and their trainer being in perfect harmony, not only with each other, but with the universe itself."

Liam watched as she finished jotting down a summary of her own summary in bullet points. She began to write in the next column.

"Team Balance believes that the desire for victory is actually the trainer's greatest weakness. Only when the trainer and Pokemon can let go of their desire to win can they truly master the art of battle."

"That's…. Huh," said Liam. He had never thought of training that way.

"I'm part of Team Balance," she said, "but it's easier to overcome the desire for victory in battle than to overcome the desire for this school to run in a way that makes sense."

Liam laughed. Miss Snyder gave a small smirk and continued.

"And finally, Team Virtue. Team Virtue believes that Pokemon battles are based on mutual dependence, but that success comes from both trainer and Pokemon understanding their roles and fulfilling them with honor and excellence."

"Which is the biggest team?" asked Liam.

"I've listed them largest to smallest," said Miss Snyder, passing the paper with the team names and descriptions to Liam. "But I wouldn't let size be a part of your decision. Pick the one that fits you and your Pokemon best."

Liam looked at the three teams on the paper. He didn't feel quite like any of them fit him at the moment.

"Do I have to decide now?" he asked apprehensively.

"No," replied Miss Snyder, "you don't have to decide ever. But Everspring has after school clubs for all three, and they can be a big help on your Pokemon journey."

"I'll think about it, then," said Liam.

"That's fine," said Miss Snyder, "Now, get out of here. I know they call this unofficial student lounge, but you've got a class to get to."

Liam thanked her and stepped self-consciously out into the hall, closing the door carefully behind him.

"Liam!"

Liam turned to see Mori running to meet him, with Vasilio walking close behind her.

"We decided to come rescue you from Christina," said Mori, "You missed lit but we're on our way to bio now. Did you get your schedule?"

"Yeah," said Liam, handing it to her, "Miss Snyder said it's the same for all 9th graders."

"Cool," said Mori, "So you can keep following us around and we might not get you lost. Now let's go! Wort is strict about being late."

Liam smiled to himself as he followed Mori and Vasilio down the hall to the science room. He still wasn't sure what to make of them or this place, but they made him feel wanted, and he liked that a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

Liam's pleasure at reuniting with his two friends quickly turned into anxiety about meeting the rest of the 9th grade for the first time. Liam didn't know anything about the other students in his grade, besides Vasilio's complaint about the male-to-female ratio. While Liam thought sounded more like a feature than a drawback, it also meant he wasn't just meeting a room full of new classmates; he was meeting a room full of girls his own age.

Liam paused at the science door, waiting for Vasilio and Mori to enter first. Mori opened the door, but instead of leading the way, she and Vasilio pushed Liam through the door first.

The science room looked about as Liam had expected it to. Four rows of long white tables faced a whiteboard and periodic table, with a neatly-ordered teacher's desk to the left. Behind them were several stations Liam assumed were for labs. The far wall of the room was filled with bright windows, but on the near wall, a huge, murky tank held two menacing Carvanha.

There were four people in the room apart from Liam and two friends. The first was obviously the teacher, Professor Wort. Tall and thin, with a high, balding head and a prominent chin under a curly black beard, Liam thought Wort looked exactly as a science teacher should. Wort's lab coat and plaid shirt only strengthened the impression. He greeted Liam with a firm handshake and a broad smile.

"Welcome, Mr. Holbrook," said Professor Wort in a deep voice, somehow both authoritative and kind.

"Thanks," said Liam. He was slightly amazed by the size of Wort's enormous hands.

In the first row, a short girl with a round face greeted him with a slight bow.

"Hello," she said, "I am Ruth."

Liam recognized her heavy Ferrum accent.

"I'm Liam," he replied. Liam immediately sensed an anxious energy about Ruth.

In the second row were two more students. One was a girl with long, black hair and pretty, dark eyes behind round glasses. The other was an athletic-looking boy with buzzed black hair and a small, glittering stud in each ear.

"I'm Sylvia," said the girl with a toothy smile, "Nice you meet you."

"Jonah Kahakai," said the boy, offering Liam a fist which he bumped awkwardly, "Glad we finally got another guy. It's been just me and Vasi for two years."

"C'mon," said Sylvia, "You guys haven't suffered that much."

"True," said Vasilio, taking the seat next to Ruth, "It's improved around here since you've stopped trying to use me and Jonah as pawns in middle school girl drama."

"Please," said Sylvia in mock solemnity, putting a hand on Ruth's shoulder as her friend shuddered, "We do not bring up past pain."

Liam noticed that Mori had silently taken the seat next to Sylvia.

"So… where do I sit?" he asked, hesitantly.  
"This seat here in the front," said Professor Wort, pointing, "Seats get changed every quarter."

Liam set his bag down and began to unpack. He had decided to pack light, bringing just one notebook, a few pencils, and his old Pokedex. He could grab the rest of his school supplies when he knew exactly what he needed. As he set his notebook on the desk and flipped it open to the first page, he heard the door of the classroom open. Looking up, he saw his last two classmates step through the door just as the bell rang. His heart did a small jump.

The two girls that entered the room were both pretty, but the one that walked over and sat down in the seat next to Liam was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her eyes were an ocean green, her hair wavy and brown, and she had a slightly aquiline nose. Her expression conveyed both kindness and intelligence, but also a distance.

"I'm Stephanie," she said. If her bright eyes hadn't done already so, her friendly Kalos accent certainly would have disarmed Liam completely.

"I'm Liam," he replied, "I'm… new. From Johto."

"Hi," said the other girl, who had crossed the room to stand in from of his table, "I'm Rain. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," said Liam. Rain was tall, at least for a girl, and slightly gangly, but with big, expressive eyes. She wore a hoodie several sizes too big for her, and her hair was dyed auburn. Liam suddenly found himself struggling to remember how he was supposed to act when meeting new people. Being introduced to a room full of girls was having just the effect he had been afraid of. Unsure of where to look, he glanced over at Professor Wort, who had just gotten up from his desk.

"Alright," said Professor Wort, in his pleasantly deep voice, "Sit down, we've got things to do."

Rain smiled at Liam and took her seat next to Jonah in the row behind. Wort began passing out packets to each student.

"This is not for a grade," said Wort, returning to the front of the room. Ruth gave a loud (but seemingly genuine) sigh of relief.

"It's a pre-test. We're starting this semester by studying Pokemon evolution. I just want to know what you know already."

Liam looked down at the paper, mainly as an alternative to gawping at the girl sitting next to him. He was glad Wort had saved him from having to make coherent sentences while looking at two very pretty girls, but he now found himself reading the pretest with some trepidation. Liam had been a Pokemon trainer for years, but his knowledge of Pokemon was informal and unsystematic. Faced with putting it down on paper, Liam suddenly felt insecure. He gave a small sigh and looked at the first question.

_1\. What are the different means of Pokemon Evolution?_

That was easy enough. Liam scribbled down leveling up, trading, and evolutionary stones, and felt very clever when he added "friendship" to the list. His long project of trying to evolve his Eevee into an Umbreon had brought it to his mind. He looked at the next question.

_2\. Why do different means of Pokemon evolution exist?_

Liam started to write, realized he was speculating, scratched out his work, and chewed on the end of his pencil. Realizing suddenly that he was sitting next to Stephanie with a mostly blank sheet of paper and a pencil in his mouth, Liam quickly flipped ahead to find a question he was sure he could answer.

_5\. Why do some Pokemon (and their trainers) choose to forestall or forego evolution entirely?_

Liam began writing furiously. Some Pokemon, he knew, simply preferred to remain as they were and not undergo significant changes in physiology and even personality. There were also some Pokemon who could learn rare and powerful moves, but only if they delayed evolution. Some trainers and Pokemon even competed in specialized leagues where only unevolved, first-stage Pokemon could be used.

Liam paused and thought. He caught himself just seconds before accidentally putting his pencil back into his mouth. Then, it came to him: eviolite. Some unevolved Pokemon could actually gain a competitive edge by choosing not to evolve and holding an eviolite instead. Feeling proud of himself, Liam looked ahead for other questions he knew something about.

_7\. What is the relationship between evolution and aging in Pokemon?_

Liam was sure this was a trick question of some kind; he just didn't know what the trick was. He ultimately decided to write "There isn't one," after staring at the question for several minutes and narrowly avoiding putting the end of his pencil in his mouth. Deciding he had written about all he could on the pretest, Liam glanced around the room at the other students. Most of the others were still writing: Stephanie with a careful ease Liam found both entrancing and intimidating; Ruth with a near manic eagerness and a whispered "Oh!" every time she seemed to have come to the end of a question, at which point she began writing some more. Mori alone seemed to have given up; she was drawing what looked like a menacing purple Gengar on the upper-left corner of her paper.

After about ten minutes, Wort finally forced Ruth to set down her pencil and called the classes attention.

"Evolution," he began, crossing his arms, "is a central part of the biology of Pokemon. Pioneering research by Professor Rowan in Sinnoh suggests over 90 percent of Pokemon are linked to evolution in some way. As our knowledge of Pokemon deepens, we discover more and more means that Pokemon use to evolve. What's an example of means of evolution?"

"Level up," said Ruth, looking intently down at her answers to question 1.

"Leveling up is the most common means of Pokemon evolution," said Wort, "Why do you think that is?"

Jonah raised his hand.  
"Mr. Kahakai," said Wort, extending a forearm and pointing to Jonah.

"It's something Pokemon can do themselves," said Jonah, "I mean, in the wild. They don't need a trainer to evolve by leveling up."

"Good, good," said Wort, "Let's expand on that thought. Why is being able evolve without a trainer an advantage?"

Sylvia raised her hand.

"Miss Liu."

"It gives them a competitive advantage over Pokemon with other forms of evolution," said Sylvia, "They're better adapted to life without a trainer."

Professor Wort stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Well," he said, "It seems to me like that raises another question, doesn't it?"

The class was silent for a moment. Liam, after much hesitation, raised his hand.

"Mr. Holbrook."

"Why," began Liam, feeling awkward, "do any Pokemon evolve by stones, or trades, or… any way other than leveling up."

"Aha," said Wort, wagging his finger affirmatively at Liam, "And that is the question we'll be answering over the next few weeks."

Wort spent the rest of the class laying out the different forms of Pokemon evolution. Liam quickly realized that remembering friendship evolution was no great feat; there were, as it turned out, about twice as many different methods of evolution as he had written down, including several he had never heard of before. As the bell rang, Professor Wort asked the class to summarize everything they had learned in the class that day. Liam felt like he was writing a lot. Apart from Ruth, who seemed to have an insatiable hunger for classroom knowledge of all kinds, Liam was the last students to turn in his exit slip.

"You seemed to have learned a lot today, Mr. Holbrook," said Wort, looking at the scrap of paper Liam handed him.

"Yeah," said Liam, not sure what to make of Wort's remark.

"That's good," said Wort, "There's always a lot to learn about Pokemon."

Liam nodded and joined Mori and Vasilio in the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is it."

It was lunchtime, and Vasilio was pointing to small restaurant with low tables and what looked like roughly-woven baskets for seats. The sign above the entrance read "Traditional Ji Minority Food." On a wooden stool outside, an old man with long, wiry whiskers sat smoking a water pipe with a Tepig at his side.

"The place has the best food near the school, unless you're willing to run," explained Vasilio, as he held up four fingers to the old man, "And they don't mind if you take out your Pokemon. We don't come here all the time because ordering dishes to more expensive than just getting fried noodles, but it is the first day back."

"Who's number four?" asked Liam, noting the gesture Vasilio had made to the old man.

"Arthur's gonna come eat with us," said Mori, taking off her headphones, "He said he'd be a few minutes late because of SGA... stuff."

They sat down together at a square table barely a foot off the ground and sunk into the squashy, basket-like seats. Mori took the first Pokeball from the side of her backpack and released a Misdreavus, which floated above them as they sat. Vasilio took a Pokeball from his belt and sent out an Amaura, which sat down quietly besides him. Its head fins cast a slight luminescent glow.

"Is that an Amaura?" asked Liam.

"Yes," said Vasilio, stroking his Pokemon's sail-like fins, "I got it from the fossil lab in Old Bone Valley."

"Showing off, Vasi?"

The older boy from the morning assembly was pulling up a lumpy chair between Liam and Vasilio. Vasilio rolled his eyes.

"He asked," he protested, as Arthur poured himself some tea.

"You brought her out," said Arthur. He leaned in mock confidentially to Liam, "Be careful of this guy."

Liam laughed. Arthur's phone buzzed, and pulled it out of his pocket and began typing a text message with a frown.

"Sylv's gonna kill me before the end of the year," he muttered, putting his phone back in his pocket, "My own sister. I can't believe I voted for her for secretary."

"She's already after you?" asked Vasilio.

Arthur signed heavily.

"We've got three weeks before that lock-in. She says we have to have a schedule for the whole night by Wednesday."

"And you don't have a schedule," said Mori.

"I don't have a schedule yet," said Arthur, "I'll have one by Wednesday. Maybe."

"Yep, she's gonna kill you," said Vasilio and Mori together.

The waitress came up to their table. Vasilio ordered white rice for each of them, along with a dish of mixed corn and soybeans and a dish Vasi explained as small bits of meat skewered on toothpicks and garnished with mint.

"And sweet and sour pork," added Arthur.

"You're paying for that," countered Vasilio.

"Okay, okay," said Arthur, "Sweet and sour pork, and I'm paying for it, and he's not allowed to eat any."

They cracked Sunflora seeds as they waited for the food, while Arthur asked Liam about how he liked Everspring so far.

"Nanzo seems pretty different from Johto," said Liam, "Pretty much everywhere in Johto has a small-town feel, except for Goldenrod City. Everspring City looks like it has more people than all of Johto put together."

"Yeah," said Arthur, "Nanzo's a big place, but Everspring is the biggest city in the region. Jadetower and Hempshear probably feel more like the towns in Johto and Kanto."

"But I like the people so far," said Liam.

"Awwww," said Mori, sarcastically, as she flicked the a seed at Vasilio.

"This is a good school in a good community," said Arthur, somewhat seriously. "I know changing countries is tough."

"I had a lot of time to get used to it," said Liam, "I found out my dad was gonna be transferred back in August, so I had about five months to rage at my parents about it. By November we were packing and I was… more resigned to the idea."

"How long had you been in Johto?" asked Arthur, cracking a few more seeds with his teeth.

"Ever since I was two," said Liam.

"Dang," said Arthur, "That's a long time to live in one place and then just pack it all up, dude."

"Yeah," said Liam. They all crunched on seeds for a few moments in silence.

"At least," Liam added, "I got to bring my Pokemon with me."

"What are those two you've got on your belt?" asked Arthur.

Liam detached both and set them gently on the low, wooden table.

"Eevee, and Sneasel," said Liam, pointing to each in their Pokeballs.

"Ooh," said Mori, glancing at Vasilio.

"Don't let Vasi con you into trading away that Sneasel," said Arthur, "He loves ice types."

"Yes I do," said Vasilio, stroking his Amaura's neck.

"I'm pretty attached to it," said Liam, releasing his Sneasel from its Pokeball. It glanced around anxiously, then climbed onto Liam's left shoulder.

"What are you gonna evolve your Eevee into?" asked Mori.

"Umbreon," said Liam, offering his Sneasel a seed, which it turned down. "At least, that's the plan."

"Nice," said Mori, "We need more scary kids around this place."

The waitress returned with their food. All three dishes were new to Liam, but he enjoyed them all, especially the toothpick meat. Arthur swung his chopsticks at Vasilio every time he tried to help himself to his sweet and sour pork, but he let Liam have all he wanted. Arthur even offered some to Sneasel, who swallowed it after sniffing it suspiciously.

They continued to talk about their first day back, with the other three giving Liam frequently contradictory advice and warnings about the teachers he hadn't met yet. When the plates were all empty and they had finished eating the last of the rice from the bottom of their bowls, Arthur stood up and stretched.

"Ahhh," he said, "That was good."

"You only came with us for the food," said Vasilio.

"That's not true," said Arthur, patting his stomach contently, "I wanted to meet Liam."

"And eat our food," said Mori.

"Sometimes being a responsible Student Body president comes with perks," said Arthur, taking his phone out of his pocket again to check the time.

"Darn it," he said, "Battle class is in five minutes. We gotta get back."

Vasilio gave the Amaura a final stroke down its long neck and returned it to its Pokeball. Mori reluctantly recalled her Misdreavus and put its Pokeball back on her backpack. Liam's Sneasel had fallen asleep on his shoulder—it was nocturnal, he reminded himself—so he carefully called it back into its Pokeball without waking it.

As they made their way back from lunch, Liam noticed that Mori seemed to have slipped back into one of her odd moods. She hadn't said anything for a while when she suddenly halted.

"Liam," said Mori, motioning to him to stop.

Vasilio and Arthur looked back at her curiously.

"Keep going, you two," said Mori, irritably, "This has nothing to do with you."

"I'll see you in battle class, Liam," said Arthur, as he and Vasilio kept walking towards the school's main gate. Liam waved to them and turned back to Mori. She was looking at him again in the same intense way she had when they have first met.

"I want you to have this," she said, reaching into her bag, "Well, actually, I want your Eevee to have it."

She handed him a small silver bell on a black ribbon. Liam took it from her with slightly trembling hands, wondering what the present could mean.

"It's my soothe bell," she said, "But I want Eevee to have it so it can become an Umbreon."

"Are you sure your Pokemon don't need it?" asked Liam, looking at the bell to avoid making eye contact with Mori.

Mori smiled, and Liam thought she even looked a little embarrassed.

"My Pokemon don't use it," she said, "I do."

Liam gave her a confused look.``

"Just take it, you idiot," she said, rolling her eyes, "Come on, we've got to get to battle class."

They found Vasilio, Arthur, and a few other students looking at a large poster just outside of the school gate. Liam thought it must have been put up while they were out; he didn't remember it from the morning, or even from when they left for lunch. In in a bold, black script, it read:

A NEW SPRING AND AUTUMN BEGINS. TEAM POWER RETURNS. 1/26.

"What's Team Power?" asked Liam.

"I have no idea," said Arthur, "I would know about it if it was some school thing, though. I wonder who put it up."

Vasilio was frowning.

"January 26th is Lunar New Year, right?"

"Yeah," said Arthur, "But none of us will be there; break has already started by then."

"Weird," said Liam.

"There's another poster down by the noodle shop," said Sylvia, who had just arrived with Stephanie and Ruth, "Ruth thinks she knows what it means."

"Yeah," said Ruth, excitedly, "Team Power is named after the School of Power, from the Spring and Autumn Period. They controlled all of Nanzo, hundreds of years ago."

She waved her arms vaguely over her shoulder to indicate the distant past.

"I'll go talk to Christina before class," said Arthur, looking slightly worried, "The school doesn't like it when people try to advertise to the students."

As he spoke, the gate guard walked over to them, looked at the poster, and pulled it down without a word. The students watched in surprise as he walked over to a nearby dumpster and fed the poster to the Muk that lived inside. After glancing at each other in silent astonishment, they hurried through the gate to battle class.


	6. Chapter 6

Liam found what looked like the entire high school gathered in the main courtyard of the school building for battle class. Several students were lined up in front of a Pokemon Center nurse carrying a portable healing station, both most were either talking excitedly in small groups or looking anxiously at the Pokeballs they had brought with them. Liam decided to stick with Mori and Vasilio, but he saw Arthur heading up the stairs in the direction of Miss Snyder's office to tell her about the posters.

"Is this everyone in high school?" asked Liam, nervously.

"Not the seniors," said Vasilio, "but everyone else."

"Any idea what we're doing?"

"Battling," said Mori. nudging Liam lightly with her elbow.

At that moment, a whistle sounded and the students started to gather around a small, thin woman with large, thick glasses and black hair.

"Hurry up, hurry up," she said, "Lots to do."

Liam found himself standing between Mori and Stephanie, which made him very conscious of his posture.

"Today," the small woman began, "We assign new battle partners."

She began reading down a list and pairing up students, seemingly from the older students to the younger. Each pair stepped out of the circle and began forming a rough line. When she reached their grade, the small woman paired Vasilio with Ruth, Mori with Jonah, and Sylvia with Stephanie, before finally pairing Liam with Rain.

"Be tough on him," added the small woman to Rain, "Don't go easy because he is new."

Liam felt a little embarrassed as Rain walked up to him with a wide smile.

"Looks like we're partners for this quarter," she said, walking with him to the end of the line.

"What does that mean?" asked Liam.

"It means we'll be battling together for the next quarter," Rain replied, "and we'll be paired up for double battles."

"Ah," said Liam, uncertainly.

"Don't worry," said Rain, smiling, "I won't actually go hard on you. Coach Tang thinks she needs to be tough on new students. She's actually very sweet."

Liam felt embarrassed and a little offended by Rain's seeming confidence that he couldn't handle her going hard on him. He decided to prove her wrong, if he got the chance.

"Now," said Coach Tang, "We start with… 9th grade. Liam, Rain, you two there."

She directed them to the nearest battling field. Liam's heart started pounding. He hadn't even thought to dread having a Pokemon battle in front of the whole school, but now that he was faced with doing it, he thought was much worse thing that acting a little bit weird in front of a girl or saying something stupid in class. Rain took her position at the far side of the field, placing her hands on her hips.

"Sylvia, Stephanie, you two over there."

Liam realized, to his slight relief, that theirs was not the only Pokemon battle going on. Even better, he wasn't under the pressure of winning his first Pokemon battle with Stephanie watching. She would be busy with her own battle.

"Mori, Jonah, furthest field," said Coach Tang. She called two older student over to her.

"I'll referee this one," she said, pointing to the field where Liam and Rain stood, "You two take the other matches."

The other students nodded and jogged off to the other two fields. Coach Tang turned towards Liam and Rain, her eyes narrowed behind her large glasses.

"Ready?" she called out, "and…. Begin!"

She blew her whistle.

"Go, Sneasel," Liam threw out the stronger of his two Pokemon, ready to give Rain a difficult fight. Rain's expression didn't change, but Liam thought he caught something strange in her eye.

"Go, Aromatisse!" she shouted.

"Oh, crap," Liam muttered under his breath. He paused, unsure what to do.

"First move, first move," said Coach Tang, making a chopping motion impatiently with her hands.

"Sneasel, use Icy Wind!"

Sneasel extended his claws and a blast of cold wind shot right at Rain's Aromatisse. The move hit, but Aromatisse seemed unharmed. Liam clenched his teeth.

"Aromatisse," said Rain, with the confidence on an experienced trainer, "use Sweet Kiss!"

Her Aromatisse blew a kiss at Sneasel, who saw the attack coming but reacted too soon. Liam saw Sneasel stagger, exhibiting clear signs of confusion.

"Sneasel," said Liam, with a moment's hesitation, "use Metal Claw!"

After a moment's uncertain, Sneasel clearly registered his trainer's words and lept at Aromatisse with a vicious slash. Rain's Pokemon was injured, but clearly not beaten. Liam's eyes met Rain's. The strange expression was in her eyes again. Liam thought he knew what it meant now,

"Aromatisse," she shouted, "Use Moonblast!"

Sneasel never had a chance. Still under the effects of Confusion, it took the full force of the attack, barely holding on with just a few HP. Liam breathed heavily.

"Sneasel," he said, "Use Metal Claw again."

But this time his words seemed not to reach his Pokemon. Sneasel looked around as if unsure where he was or what he was supposed to do. It lunged at Aromatisse, missing it be several feet and stumbling to the group.

"Aromatisse," said Rain, calmly, "Use Echoed Voice."

The attack knocked Sneasel to the ground, where it lay motionless. Liam didn't need Coach Tang's whistle to know the match was over.

"The match is over," she said, "Rain is the winner."

Liam recalled his Sneasel to its Pokeball despondently. Rain walked across the field to Liam, still smiling.

"You're ruthless," said Liam. He had a suspicion Rain had tricked him, and didn't feel too friendly towards her.

Rain gave a mock frown.

"I could have used Moonblast first turn," she said, simply.

Liam nodded, but the defeat still stung. He looked over the to field next to them, where Sylvia's Braviary was swooping down on Stephanie's Lucario. Both trainers had their eyes locked on the battle, giving commands in swift reaction to their opponent's moves.

"Lucario, use Quick Guard," said Stephanie, with a calm that amazed Liam. Lucario crossed its arms and Braviary's attack glanced off its mark at the last second.

On the farther field, Liam could see Mori's Misdreavus fighting a Pokemon he had never seen before that resembled a gray lizard with golden armor plates. He reached into his bag and took out his Pokedex, pointing it in the direction of the gray Pokemon.

"Error: Data not found."

"Huh," said Liam, frowning at his Pokedex.

"Oh," said Rain, "Is that a Johto Pokedex?"

"Yeah," said Liam, showing it to Rain.

"You should get yours updated," she said, "Here, connect it to mine."

She reached into her bag and took out a sky blue Pokedex in a shape Liam had never seen before, along with a short link cable. She passed the end to Liam.

"Did you know there are over 500 kinds of Pokemon in Nanzo?" said Rain, as her Pokedex began the transfer, "You'll probably recognize a lot of them from Johto, though."

The screen of Liam's Pokedex flashed and it gave off a small "ding."

"There you go," said Rain, putting her cable and Pokedex back in her bag. Liam pointed his Pokedex back at Jonah's Pokemon, which had just knocked out Mori's Misdreavus with a vicious Dragon Tail attack.

"Hakamo-o, the Scary Pokemon," said his Pokedex. The Pokemon's vital statistics appear on the small screen.

"Jonah brought his Hakamo-o with him from Alola," explained Rain, "But you can catch them in the wild here, too."

Mori and Jonah both recalled their Pokemon and met at the center of the field. Jonah said something to Mori that Liam couldn't hear, but it seemed to make her laugh. She whispered something in reply. Liam felt an irrational twinge of something like jealousy.

Liam watched the next couple matches with Rain at his side offering commentary. He had taken her for a pretty face and little else at their first meeting in Pokemon Biology, but he was quickly impressed by her near encyclopedic knowledge of the Pokemon used by their classmates. Between the commentary about their Pokemon, he also picked up a few tidbits about his classmates, and even Rain herself.

"Arthur and Sylvia came here the same year I did," said Rain, as Arthur's Steelix kicked up a massive storm of dust using Rock Slide on another student's Crawdaunt and Coach Tang began scolding him loudly for ignoring type advantages, "That was back in fourth grade."

"What about Stephanie?" asked Liam, as casually as possible.

"She and her sisters came when I was in… 7th grade," said Rain. She pointed to the field where they had fought their battle together, where an older boy with long black hair was facing down a tall, thin girl with curly, dirty brown hair.

"Taylor is going to send out his Exploud. It's very powerful, but he always starts with it, which is kind of predictable. Liz should use her Heracross."

"They're in eleventh grade?" asked Liam.

"Liz is in eleventh grade, Taylor is in tenth grade," said Rain, "Liz has been going here longer than anyone, even Vasilio."

Taylor, as predicted, sent out his Exploud.

"You know a lot about the upper grades," said Liam.

"My boyfriend Jay is in 11th grade," she explained, pointing to a boy with black tousled hair and glasses, "I spend a lot of time with him and his friends."

Liam felt the sudden, weird pang of finding out a pretty girl you just met has a boyfriend. He also realized it should have been obvious that her oversized hoodie was borrowed.

Taylor and Liz's battle turned out to be the last one of the class. All the other students gathered to watch as Liz's Heracross finished off Exploud with a Close Combat, and Coach Tang blew the final whistle.

"Remember," she said, "To meet with your partner outside school. I will give you the forms tomorrow."

"We'll be lucky if we get them by the end of the week," said Mori.

"See you in History, Liam," said Rain, as she walked over to Jay. Mori looked after her suspiciously.

"Be careful of her," said Mori quietly.

"What do you mean?" asked Liam.

"Just… be careful."

Vasilio had joined them, still looking flushed from his battle with Ruth.

"We better get up to History," he said, "It's up on the Fourth Floor."

Mori nodded, still looking with a scowl after Rain.

As they reached the main stairs, Liam noticed that Arthur, Miss Snyder, and Principal Kahakai talking seriously with the gate guard by the main doors. He was showing them another poster like the one he had torn down earlier. Liam wasn't sure what it meant, but by the time they arrived in History class, the poster and concerned looks on their faces had slipped from his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Liam stood at the bus stop with Vasilio, Mori, and a few other students waiting for the public bus 77 to arrive. Mori was leaning against the bus shelter with her headphones on and her eyes closed. Liam held his Eevee, now wearing Mori's soothe bell around its neck, in his arms.

"You'll have to put your Eevee away before we get on the bus," said Vasilio.

"I know," said Liam, stroking his Pokemon's fur, "How long does it normally take?"

"It'll be here sometime between five seconds and five years from now," said Taylor, the boy with long hair whose Exploud had been crushed in the battle against Liz's Heracross earlier in the day.

"Very helpful," said Vasilio, "They're supposed to come every eight minutes or so, but it's usually more like every fifteen."

"Or thirty," interjected Taylor, "or fifty."

"I notice you didn't bring your guitar to help us all pass the time," countered Vasilio.

"To the first day back?" said Taylor, "I barely made it out of bed at all. You're lucky I brought me to school."

"We gonna practice this weekend?" asked Vasilio.

"If Arthur can make it," said Taylor, pushing a long strand of sleek black hair out of his face.

"So, no," said Vasilio, checking the time on his phone.

"Yeah, probably not."

"He's got a lot to do," said Vasilio, "Student government, AP classes…"

"...making out with Liz…" added Taylor.

"We can neither confirm nor deny," said Vasilio.

Liam laughed. Bus 102 arrived and a few students, including Stephanie and her sisters, got on.

"Where does that bus go?" asked Liam, watching as it pulled away. He thought he caught just a glimpse of Stephanie's smile in the crowd through the plastic windows.

"One of the newer complexes on the south side," said Vasilio, "Lots of the doctors' kids live down there."

"I'd hate to live down there," said Taylor, looking at Vasilio, "Dude, can you imagine? You're at least fifteen minutes away from the nearest... anything."

"Where do you guys live?" asked Liam.

"Where almost everyone does that doesn't live on the North Side," said Taylor, "New Court."

"Also known as the pink buildings," said Vasilio, "We're one bus stop up from you, if you're in White Gardens."

"And what's so great about New Court?" asked Liam.

Taylor feigned shock and offense.

"What's so great about..?" he sputtered, "Well, first, almost all the foreigners live there, so there's always something to do. Second, there's a foreign PokeMart right on the main road. Third, you can walk to the Woven Bowl, and they sometimes have Unovan Soda Pop. And fourth, it's the location of Everspring's premium live music venue: the Garage."

"The Garage being exactly what it sounds like," said Vasilio, "Don't get his hopes up."

"Speak no heresy against the Garage," said Taylor, "Lest you be barred from it."

"The Garage is the hole where their so-called band practices," said Mori, taking off her headphones, "Also, the bus is here."

Liam quickly returned Eevee to its Pokeball and reached into his pocket.

"Busses are how much?" asked Liam, looking nervously at the meager contents of his wallet.

"It's 15 pokedollars," said Vasilio, "But you should ask your parents to get you a bus pass."

The line to get on to the bus wasn't so much a line as a small crowd, but Liam finally made it on by keeping close to his friends, helped a little by Taylor, who pushed him back into the fray every time he lost his nerve.

"You gotta get used to using your elbows to get what you want in Nanzo," said Taylor. He caught Liam by the arm as the sudden movement of the bus nearly threw him to the ground.

"Work on those bus legs, dude," said Taylor, laughing, "And grab a handle."

Liam took his advice, and soon got used to the sudden starts and the people pushing past him towards the exit at every stop. As they passed tall buildings and crowded sidewalks, Liam talked about his first day with his new friends.

"Professor Werner's class makes me the most nervous," said Liam, referencing the tactics and statistics teacher they had for fourth period.

"It should," said Mori, "But, you'll be fine. I just wish Ruth and Sylv didn't make the rest of us look bad by actually doing the reading every time."

"Ruth and Sylv aren't the only ones who do the reading every time," said Vasilio, giving Mori a flick. She flicked him back and stuck out her tongue.

"And having to battle in my very first class with Coach Tang was nerve-wracking," Liam continued.

"Yeah, I can't believe she put you with Rain. She's such a b-."

Vasilio gave Mori a meaningful look.

"...bad person to have to battle," finished Mori, carefully enunciating each word.

"I'm just trying to help," said Vasilio, seriously, "You want to come with us over New Year's, right?"

"Yeah, I know," said Mori, irritably, "But my dad isn't here right now. What's the problem."

"It's a matter of habit," said Vasilio. Mori rolled her eyes.

"My dad said if he caught me swearing one more time I couldn't go to Jadetower over the break," Mori explained to Liam, who couldn't decide whether Mori's swearing problem made him uncomfortable or simply added to her "bad girl" mystique.

"And she needs that gym badge," said Vasilio, "You should come with us too, if your parents will let you."

"How far is Jadetower?" asked Liam, more to stall than out of genuine interest.

"It's about two hours if you take the train," said Vasilio, "but we're going to walk. Route 3 has lots of Pokemon and trainers on it, especially during the New Year holiday. Should be good practice."

"Now tell him the rest of your plan to murder our legs," said Mori.

"Well," said Vasilio, "We'll spend New Year's Day in Jadetower, then we'll all take on the gym. After that, we'll walk northwest to Grandclay City…"

Mori let out a groan.

"...take on the gym there, then take the train back." Vasilio concluded.

Liam privately agreed with Mori; that seemed like a lot of work for a time formally designated as a "break." He was just hoping that Vasilio wouldn't put him on the spot about it, when...

"You want to come with us, Liam?"

"Um," Liam began awkwardly, "I don't know. I'll have to ask my parents."

Vasilio seemed like he wanted to push the matter further, but Taylor interrupted.

"Hey, what about the lock-in? Are you guys gonna skip it?"

"Nope," said Vasilio, "We're gonna head home afterwards, get some sleep, then head out after lunch."

"Mori's right, you're insane," said Taylor, "Also, our stop is next."

"Ruth, Sylvia, Stephanie, and Jonah are all coming," said Vasilio.

"That's doesn't seem like much of an argument to me," countered Mori.

"Rain is staying behind," said Vasilio, with a small grin.

"Ah…. frick," said Mori. Vasilio raised an eyebrow.

"Frick doesn't count," she insisted.

"Your dad would say it does," said Vasilio. Liam laughed.

"Well, good thing I said it to you and not to him," said Mori, irritably. She put her headphones back on and started walking towards the back of the bus.

"Your stop is right after this," said Vasilio, waving to Liam, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," said Liam, waving awkwardly after Vasilio and Taylor.

The bus was mostly empty by now. Liam took a seat near the back door of the bus so he wouldn't miss his stop. He watched as the pink buildings of New Court disappeared from sight. The bus went through a roundabout before turning towards the tall, gray apartments of White Gardens. Liam picked up his small bag and stepped towards the exit, checking his belt to make sure his two Pokeball were both accounted for. The next turn almost decked him, but his so-called "bus legs" seemed to have grown at least a little since the beginning of the trip. He could get used to this.


	8. Chapter 8

Not having a cellphone was something Liam had long been proud of. He didn't need one, he didn't want one, and there seemed to be a lot of perks to not having one, like being inaccessible whenever he wanted. But he didn't want to be now. His friends back in Johto were already asleep, his new friends in Nanzo were beyond his reach. He was alone, with his thoughts and his two Pokemon, in his small, sparsely-furnished bedroom, with the bunk bed and blue wallpaper.

In many ways, Liam thought his first day at Everspring Academy couldn't have gone better. Vasilio had not only looked after Liam, he even seemed to like him. And while he knew a lot of the attention he got from the other students was from the sheer novelty he offered, he couldn't help but feel that some of them, Mori especially, actually liked him too. And that was good, because he really liked them.

Liam was more than a little struck with most of the girls he'd met that day, but mostly with Mori and Stephanie. In a lot of ways, they couldn't be more opposite. Mori was secretive, sarcastic, and moody. She was the type of girl that drew skulls on her arms during class. Stephanie was friendly and intelligent, but Liam had to admit that in contrast to Mori, he knew almost nothing about her besides how she looked. He also had a strong feeling that she was out of his league. But then again, in a new city, anything could happen.

The Eevee on Liam's chest purred contentedly, its Soothe Bell jingling lightly as he pondered. On the bunk above him, his Sneasel perched alertly, watching the distant red lights of traffic outside the bedroom window. For Sneasel, like for Liam, this was still an unfamiliar view of an unfamiliar city. It wasn't Johto, and not matter how familiar it got, it never would be.

"I think it'll turn out okay," said Liam to his Sneasel. It gave a slight growl.

Liam checked the alarm beside his bed one more time to make sure it was properly set, then nudged Eevee off his chest and plunged his face into his pillow. With friends to see in the morning, sleep felt worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

Liam's next few days of school were much like his first, except for the early morning ride on Bus 77. Although a few other students always got on at the New Court stop, Liam kept his headphones on. He was still enough of an introvert not to make conversation first thing in the morning. Mori sometimes sat next to him, but they listened to their own music in silence. Liam liked having Mori near him without the pressure of making conversation.

Liam quickly settled into his daily schedule, despite continuing to check it at the end of every class "just to be sure." Rollon's literature class in first period would have been one of his favorites if it wasn't so early in the morning. Liam breezed through the vocabulary quizzes and soon found himself holding up the in-class discussions, but often lacked the motivation to sit down and write for the class. Stephanie sat directly across from him, offering ample opportunity for non-academic daydreaming.

Wort's Pokemon biology class, by contrast, proved a surprisingly enjoyable for Liam, even if it was challenging. Liam's first impressions of Wort had been mostly correct: he was both kind and authoritative, but with a wry sense of humor that occasionally broke through his more serious demeanor. Having Stephanie as his seat partner was both a blessing and a curse. It gave Liam plenty of chances to make small conversation with her, but it also kept him slightly on edge. He eventually gave up fighting the urge to put his pencil in his mouth, judging that if pencil-chewing was make-or-break for Stephanie, he really didn't have a chance anyways.

Professor Alexander's third period math class wasn't much of a challenge, but Liam didn't mind that. It gave him time to pass messages in the notebook that he, Vasilio, and Mori soon started sharing in that class. It was also their only class with the eight grade, a lively and chatty group more than twice the size of their own class and magnified by the fact that Ruth, Sylvia, Stephanie, and Rain took a more advanced class.

Professor's Werner's fourth period tactics and statistics class was, as Liam predicted, very challenging. Werner was an aging war veteran and former member of the Elite Four, and his demands of his students matched his own capabilities. Liam found Werner's preoccupation with natures, Pokemon powers, and same-type attack bonus pedantic at first, but he also began to unwillingly incorporate it into the decisions he made on the battling field. Although Werner was the only teacher Liam was actually afraid of, he couldn't help also respecting him. After all, Werner's obsession with statistics was more than talk; he and his Pidgeot had experienced battle in a way Liam hoped he never would.

Despite the ordeal of being defeated by Rain in the very first class, Liam's later experiences in Coach Tang's Battle Class were more frustrating than nerve-wracking. Coach Tang was, as his classmates had insisted, good-hearted and very thoughtful, but her lessons were often chaotic, and she was easily distracted, usually on purpose, by questions from students. It wasn't unusual for them to lose half the class before getting a chance to battle, and older students, much to Liam's frustration, didn't seem to mind this at all.

History with Professor Shrike was a relaxing and structured change of pace after Battle Class. Shrike was young, cool, and professional, and she always seemed genuinely interested in questions, no matter who asked them . Liam didn't know why, but Rain always chose to sit with him in this class, causing Mori to keep her distance. Rain liked to write comments on Liam's notebook, which he would have found flirtatious if he didn't know about Jay.

Pokemon Breeding & Care was the last class of each day. Professor Huang was the only local professor, and Liam quickly understood why she was so adored by the students. Huang's Pokemon Breeding classes struck a perfect balance between knowledge and practice that kept Liam on his toes without making him feel overwhelmed. Professor Huang also frequently brought treats for both the her students and their Pokemon, an endearment even Mori couldn't often resist. Liam often finished his day brushing his Eevee or tossing berries into the mouth of Mori's Misdreavus, and that seemed to him like the perfect end to school.

On Friday morning, Liam stepped off Bus 77 as usual to see a group of students crowded around a man with a pushcart billowing steam and smoke. Spotting Vasilio and Mori among them, Liam quickly joined them to see what was so interesting.

"Bweakfass," explained Mori, her mouth full of rice cake and beansprouts.

"We call this guy 'the Dude,'" said Vasilio, gesturing to the man behind the cart, who was busily flipping thin rice cakes, frying dough sticks, and spreading different kinds of sauce and seasoning to feed the hungry crowd of students, assisted by a Magby in an apron.

"He stops showing up on this street while school is out," explain Arthur, who had his own breakfast in hand, "He just came back today."

"You should try one," said Vasilio.

Liam did try one, ordering a rice cake filled with dough and sweet peanut sauce. He agreed with the other students; it was delicious, and well worth standing in line for. He munched on it contentedly as he and his two friends walked towards the main school gate.

"Test in Tactics today," said Vasilio. Mori made a disgusted face.

"I can't believe he's giving us a test at the end of the first week," she groaned.

"I can," said Liam.

Mori flicked him, but Liam hardly noticed. A small shape moving on one of the bushes outside the school wall had caught his eye, and he was reaching for the second Pokeball and his belt.

"What's that?" asked Mori. Liam shushed her.

"Go, Eevee."

As Liam's Pokemon sprung out of its Pokeball, Vasilio gave a laugh.

"Liam," he said, as if Liam had suddenly regressed into a kindergartener, "That's a Weedle. Don't they have those in Johto? They're not rare, you know."

"I know," said Liam, stubbornly, "Eevee, Bite attack!"

Eevee snapped at the Weedle, which retaliated by blasting a sticky String Shot into its face and tumbling off the bush. Eevee, although disoriented, looked ready to continue the fight, but Liam didn't wait for a second turn; he tossed a Pokeball at the Weedle. After a few twitches, it gave off the signature "click" and Liam picked up off the concrete ground where it had fallen.

"Giving up dark types to become a Bug Catcher?" asked Mori, smirking.

"No," said Liam, a little annoyed with his friends, "I'm planning a Beedrill armed with Toxic and Venoshock for Rain's Aromatisse."

Mori's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, I'd love to see that horrible puff ball slowly succumb to its poisonous fate," she said, clearly relishing the thought, "I take it back; I am now Team Weedle."

"Well, don't let her know I'm training Weedle, then," said Liam, attaching his new Pokeball to his belt, "I'll need surprise if I'm gonna stand a chance."

"We're doing battles at the shaokao place near New Court after Youth Group tonight," said Vasilio, "Rain won't be there, so you can give your Weedle some exercise."

"Any chance I could take on your Nincada?" Liam asked Mori. She shoot her head darkly.

"I have to go straight home after Youth Group," she said.

"Your dad?" asked Liam. Mori nodded.

"We can all meet up on Saturday and take Liam to Feather and Petal Street tomorrow," said Vasilio, "Then do some battles after that."

Liam privately felt that he wouldn't have caught the Weedle at all if he knew it would lead to half his weekend being booked.

"Where's Youth Group?" Liam asked, hoping to find some excuse not to go in Vasilio's answer.

"It's across from New Court," said Vasilio, "Near the Woven Bowl."

"Yeah, because I know where the Woven Bowl is," said Liam, sarcastically.

"We'll have to show you that too," said Vasilio. Liam's plan to do less this weekend had clearly already backfired.

"It's like five minutes from New Court," said Mori, "And you don't have to come if you don't want to. I only go because my parents make me."

"That," said Vasilio, laughing, "Is the biggest lie I have ever…"

The bell rang for them to head to class. Mori suddenly realized that she needed something from her locker, said a word her dad wouldn't have approved of, and dashed off in the direction of the school building.

"So," said Liam, as he and Vasilio walked at a slower but still deliberate pace in the direction of class, "Why does Mori go to Youth Group?"

"Boys," said Vasilio, "It's her one chance to hang out with the homeschooled bad boys from the north side of town."

Liam's heart sank a little but he did his best to laugh.

"I wouldn't have guessed that about Mori," said Liam, as casually as he could. "Also: homeschooled bad boys?"

"You have no idea," said Vasilio, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. Liam was eager to hear more, but decided, reluctantly, to save questions about Mori's love life until a later time.


	10. Chapter 10

Perhaps five different people tried to drag a promise that he would be at Youth Group out of Liam during the course of that day. First it was Sylvia and Vasilio in Lit, then Arthur in the hallway between third and fourth period, then Taylor as during lunch, then Rain during history class. It wasn't that Liam didn't appreciate the attention; he just didn't think sitting in a room with fifty other teenagers sounded like a fun way to spend a Friday evening. Liam finally agreed to meet Vasilio after Youth Group was over and go with him to the local shaokao (which Vasilio explained meant "meat on a stick") spot, but even that felt like a serious concession to social pressure rather than a chance to have a little fun.

Vasilio drew a small map for Liam on the bus after school, showing him the relative locations of White Gardens, New Court, the Woven Bowl, and the apartment used for the local Youth Group. Liam ate dinner at home with his parents, but spent the next few hours wandering restlessly around the house. The consciousness of losing some of the Friday night ended up costing him the entire evening. Eventually, Liam's mother sent him on his way early because his twitchiness and pacing was making the family Furfrou anxious.

Retracing the bus route to New Court and making frequent reference to Vasilio's map, Liam found himself outside what had to be the Youth Group building, based on the loud music he could hear inside. He sat down on a nearby bench and took out his Pokedex to read the entry on Weedle. He had been sitting there for about ten minutes when he heard the sounds of two voices, both raised, coming from the stairs that led up to the Youth Group. He recognized both of them.

"This has nothing to do with you!" shouted Mori, who was the first to come into view, "Can't I have my own life without you trying to manage me?"

"I'm not trying to manage you, I'm trying to look out for you," said Vasilio, in a state of agitation Liam hadn't imagined possible in his friend before.

"Oh, really?" asked Mori, sarcastically.

"Yes, really," said Vasilio, "If you dad finds out about-"

"You mean when you tell him?" she countered.

"I won't have to!" said Vasilio, sighing heavily, "I wish you would think about what other people-"

"I don't care about other people or what they think!" shouted Mori, "And don't use them as an excuse because you're jealous."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," said Vasilio, flatly, "I'm not talking about this anymore."

"Good," said Mori, looking daggers at Vasilio, "because I'm going home."

She turned and saw that Liam was watching for the first time. For a split second, Liam thought she looked embarrassed, but her face quickly set and she rushed past him without a word. As she stomped away around the corner in the direction of New Court, Jonah came down there stairs with a look of mixed beliderment and frustration on his face.

"Dude, what was that about?" he asked Vasilio. Liam thought he sounded angry.

"It's…" began Vasilio, holding his head in exasperation, "It's about her dad. It's not about you. I'm sorry this blew up."

"I didn't start it," said Jonah.

"I know, I know," said Vasilio, "It's not your fault, you didn't know. I wasn't trying to ruin anything. Look, if you like her…"

"What do you mean by that?" said Jonah, his teeth slightly clenched.

"Sorry," said Vasilio, looking strangely defeated, "I should know you better than that. It's just that Mori…"

He trailed off. They both stood in silence for a moment.

"Nah, it's okay," said Jonah, offering Vasilio his fist, "I get it. You're looking out for her."

Liam got up and walked over to them with some trepidation as Vasilio returned the fist bump.

"Hey Liam," said Jonah, smiling awkwardly, "Welcome to Youth Group drama."

Vasilio nodded at Liam and sighed.

"My Pokeballs are still upstairs," said Vasilio, apologetically.

"You're good," said Jonah, "We'll wait. Arthur and the others still aren't down yet anyways."

Vasilio rushed back up the stairs to the Youth Group. While he was gone, Jonah took out his phone and checked for text messages.

"Nothing," he said, more to himself than to Liam.

Arthur, Taylor, Sylvia, and Liz joined them before Vasilio returned; Arthur and Taylor both had guitars over their shoulders.

"I noticed you weren't at Youth Group," said Arthur to Liam.

"Sorry I missed the excitement," said Liam, sarcastically. Taylor laughed.

"First Friday of the year's gotta have something," he said, pushing a long black strand of hair out of his face. "Still doesn't beat when Arthur took his Onix out of his Pokeball inside two years ago."

"It was an accident," said Arthur, adamantly. Jonah snorted.

"Not your best moment, bro," said Sylvia, "We going?"

"We gotta wait for Vasilio," said Jonah.

"Cool," said Sylvia, "You coming with us for shaokao. Liam?"

Liam nodded.

"Awesome," said Sylvia, seeming genuinely pleased. At that moment, Vasilio returned, now wearing a black knitted cap over his white hair.

"You keep your Pokemon in you beanie?" asked Liam, grinning.

"Oh, shut up," said Vasilio,

"It's Mori's," he muttered as their group set out, "I'm keeping it on my head so I don't forget it."

"Are you gonna see her again soon?" asked Liam.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, slackening his pace to so they fell slightly behind the rest of the group, "I'll go by her house tomorrow morning to check on her."

"Will she want to see you?" asked Liam.

"Maybe not," said Vasilio, with a small smile, "But she will want her hat back."

They crossed the street to New Court and were passing the foreign PokeMart when Liam decided to push the topic further.

"What was that about with Mori and Jonah?"

Vasilio sighed heavily.

"You don't have to tell me," said Liam, quickly.

"I mean," began Vasilio, "You picked up most of it while you were sitting there, right? Mori and Jonah slipped out in the middle of Youth Group. I found them in the hall and…"

He sighed again.

"...asked her what she was doing. She, well, we starting shouting, and…"

He trailed off.

"I think I was there for the rest of it," said Liam.

"You have to understand," said Vasilio, as they passed out the back gate of New Court into a community garden of some sort, "Mori's family stuff is complicated. I feel like the best thing I can do as a friend is keep things from exploding between her and her dad. As much as she doesn't like it when I tell her not to do something, she likes being grounded even less."

Liam gave a small chuckle. Vasilio's face remained serious.

"It's sometimes worse than that," said Vasilio, "He gave away her Purrloin as a punishment when she was in fourth grade. I mean, I know Mori can be difficult, but…"

"That's wrong," said Liam, flatly.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "It's just been a waiting game for her ever since middle school. She ran away for two weeks last year, just to have a chance to be away from home for a little while. They found her living in a hotel in Eastkey, and that was just because Taylor finally cracked and told her dad."

Liam looked ahead at Taylor, who was walking next to Sylvia and Jonah.

"They used to be best friends, until he helped her run away," explained Vasilio, "Now she's not allowed to talk to him. I'm actually one of the only guys Mori is allowed to be friends with."

"Wow," said Liam.

"Look," said Vasilio, "I'm not telling you any of this because I want to you to be afraid of Mori or think she's crazy or anything like that. I'm sure she doesn't care if you know. I just want you to know that she's had it…. hard. Harder than most of us. I mean, I don't want to act like moving around and leaving everything behind isn't a huge deal, but imagine if you had to go home to your problems every night, no matter where you lived. That's why we all have to look out for each other."

Liam was silent for a moment, then he smiled.

"We're being textbook TCKs right now," he laughed, "Sharing deep secrets after knowing each other for five days."

"Well, you never know how long anybody's gonna stay," said Vasilio, "We don't have the luxury of making acquaintances. Hey, we're here."

Vasilio pointed ahead of them to a shabby side street with many low wooden tables set on the sidewalk. The street was lit only by one flickering street lamp and the glow coming from a stall manned by a Magmar wearing an apron and skullcap. A small swarm of Zubat chittered in the darkness overhead. Arthur and the other were already grabbing skewers and passing them to the Magmar, who seasoned them before setting them on a grill heated by coals (and, of course, its own fiery breath).

Vasilio and Arthur pointed out all the best skewered snacks, and Liam ended up ordering five meat skewers, five with mushrooms, three with potatoes, and even some leeks. Liam passed them off to the Magmar, and paid a man with gray hair sitting next to the stall. Most of the other customers at the low tables were locals, some eating with their Pokemon. Vasilio, as usual, took out his Amaura and stroked its head as it sat next to him.

While Liam was waiting for the Magmar to finish cooking his food, he noticed a group of locals in orange jackets walking up the street. Taylor noticed them too, because he tapped Liz on the shoulder and pointed to them.

"Some Team Balance dorks coming up this way," he said, "Wanna get 'em?"

Liz nodded, and together they left their table and stepped out into the middle of the street to confront the group in orange jackets.

"Hey, Balance," said Taylor, tossing his hair, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

The Team Balance crew laughed.

"Foreigner," said a man with a glistening bald head, "Leave the real fights to the real Team Truth."

"I think we're ready to give you a real fight right now," said Taylor, taking a Pokeball from his belt. "What do ya say? Double battle? Two Pokemon each?"

"Let's fight them," said another from the Team Balance group, a woman with her hair in a tight bun, "Teach these foreign Rattatas some respect."

"Taylor and Liz are Team Truth?" Liam asked Vasilio.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "And actually, Arthur is Team Balance, so he really ought to-"

"Shhh," said Arthur, two skewers in hand, "I'm eating. I don't battle on an empty stomach."

The bald man and the woman were now standing opposite to Taylor and Liz, turning the sidestreet into an improvised battlefield. Each took their first Pokemon from their belts.

"I choose you," shouted Taylor, "Exploud!"

"Heracross, go!" shouted Liz.

The bald man smirked.

"Hitmonlee," he said, "Go!"

At the same time, the woman tossed out her first Pokemon.

"Fearow," she said, "Take them out."

Liam thought he had seen intense Pokemon battles before. While he knew he had been a lazy Pokemon trainer back in Johto, he had at least watched plenty of gym battles in Olivine and Ecruteak. But this was something different. Without the confines of an official field or referee, the Pokemon sprung into action with their trainers shouting orders. Liz immediately rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a glittering Mega Bracelet, and her Heracross transformed into its tank-like mega form. Taylor's Exploud blasted the enemy Fearow with a Hyper Voice shortly before taking a High Jump Kick from Hitmonlee to the face.

The rest of the battle was a blur of dust, flashes, shouts, and cries.

After a few minutes of utter chaos, Liz recalled her last fainted Pokemon from the pavement and she and Taylor sullenly handed over a few hundred Pokedollars to the smirking Team Balance trainers. Liam, Vasilio, Arthur, Jonah, and Sylvia tried to keep straight faces at their defeated friends returned to the table, but they soon broke down laughing.

"Thanks, guys," sad Taylor, pushing his sweaty hair out of his face.

"You should thank us twice because we didn't eat your cold food," said Arthur. Liz whacked the back of his head.

"Hey, it's not our fault that you two suck," said Jonah. Sylvia snorted into her tea.


	11. Chapter 11

Liam only ended up doing one battle that night. His Weedle won its first victory against Vasilio's low-leveled Skiddo, weathering a Vine Whip before successfully poisoning it with Poison Sting. To Liam's surprise, Vasilio spent most of evening battling Sylvia one-on-one. Even stranger, he didn't seem to be enjoying himself, but kept his face set and his brow furrowed throughout every match.

Liam instead spent most of the evening sitting with Arthur, Taylor, Liz, and Jonah; the former two had taken out their guitars and begun an impromptu sidewalk concert, with Liz singing along and Jonah bobbing his head while beating out a basic rhythm on the table. Arthur and Taylor had a very interesting repertoire, which they explained consisted entirely of certain "streets."

"We're street musicians, and we only play streets," explained Taylor.

"What do you mean by streets?" Liam asked.

"Well," said Arthur, "We can take you to Ocean Avenue, or Page Avenue, or the Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

"We can also play a few Relient K songs and one Motion City Soundtrack song we did for the talent show last year," admitted Taylor, "But for those we require a tip."

Since Liam didn't have an instrument and didn't feel confident enough to sing along, he listened. He had taken out his Sneasel to let it enjoy the night air, but Sneasel was much more interested in the barbecued meat than the music. So Liam passed scraps of meat up to the Pokemon on his shoulder and nodded his head along to the music, and felt that he didn't know of any better way to spend an evening.

Around 10:30, Arthur and Sylvia announced that they needed to head home and grabbed a taxi, while Liam and the others started walking slowly back towards New Court. They stopped at a small Pokemon center around the corner from the shaokao spot, mostly to heal up Taylor and Liz's fainted Pokemon. At the back entrance of New Court, Liam noticed something he hadn't seen on their way out: painted on a wall in huge black letters were the words "TEAM POWER RETURNS." The others didn't seem to notice them. When their group arrived at the small fountain in the middle of New Court, Liz, Taylor, and Jonah waved goodnight to Vasilio and Liam and disappeared into the darkness.

"You can make it home from here, right?" asked Vasilio.

"I think so," said Liam. After an awkward pause, he added, "Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem," said Vasilio, "You're still on for going to Feather and Petal Street tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, sure," said Liam, with an eagerness that would have surprised the Liam of four hours ago.

"Let's meet back at this spot around 1, then," said Vasilio, starting to walk towards his apartment.

"See ya," said Liam.

Vasilio waved and disappeared into the shadows of one of the tall, faded pink New Court apartment buildings.

As Liam walked out of New Court's front gate, he spotted a slumped figure in all black sitting on the curb, lit only by the faint glow of the MIsdreavus that floated above her. The sight gave Liam a slight jolt, but he quickly recognized who it was. Liam was wondering whether he should say anything when Mori called out to him.

"Hi, Liam."

Liam thought that was invitation enough to join her on the curb. Sitting next to her, Liam could see that Mori had been crying, and her fists were tightly clenched at her side. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.  
"Someone called my dad about Jonah," Mori said at last, "He wouldn't say who, but I'm sure it was Rain."

"So, what now?" asked Liam.

"Well," said Mori, smiling weakly, "We just finished shouting at each other for two hours, and I said I was leaving for good, and I made it to here, and I just finished have a good long cry when you showed up."

"Oh," said Liam.

"Yeah," said Mori, "Goth girl has issues. Surprise, surprise. I'm guessing Vasilio told you about what happened at Youth Group?"

"I… put the pieces together," said Liam.

Mori looked up at her Misdreavus, which was circling lazily above them.

"Guess Vasi was right," she said, "I messed up."

Liam wasn't sure what to say.

"But, I survived the last few times this happened," she continued, with a sad smile, "Guess I'll survive this time too."

"So, are you gonna go home?" asked Liam, timidly.

"I probably should, before my dad calls the police," said Mori, "Yes, he did that once."

Liam gave a weak laugh. Mori looked at him with her intense expression.

"I'm not a slut," she said. Liam was taken aback.

"I know that's what they think about me," she continued, "Rain, and my dad, and even Vasilio, I think. But they don't understand, how much it…"

She paused, as if unsure of the right words.

"How much it hurts," she finished. Liam wasn't sure he understood.

"I'm glad you're here now, Liam," she said, "It's good to have someone to talk to other than Vasilio. Missy here is a good listener like you, but she's not great at talking back."

Mori's Misdreavus made a sound like a giggle.

"Hopefully this thing will have blown over before break," said Mori, "I really want that chance to be away from home for a few days, even if it does mean going on Vasi's death march."

"What about tomorrow?" asked Liam.

"I don't know," said Mori, "My dad trusts Vasi, so he might still let me go with you guys tomorrow. I hate that kid sometimes."

"Do you really think he's jealous?" asked Liam, feeling at once that it was probably an inappropriate question.

"No," said Mori, "I mean, probably not. He's in love with Sylvia. He always has been."

"Really?" said Liam, thinking back to the odd way Vasilio had acted while battling Sylvia that night.

"Oh yeah," said Mori, smiling mischievously, "That stupid kid has just the luck to be in love with the one girl in the school everyone else is also in love with."

"Well, not quite everyone," mumbled Liam.

"Oh, right," said Mori, "Let me guess: your lab partner."

"Crap," said Liam. Mori laughed.

"She's pretty," said Mori, "And she's actually nice to me without trying to save me from myself, and that's a pretty rare thing in a small place like this."

Listening to one girl he liked give her approval for the other girl he liked was an awkward and surreal experience, and Liam wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Well," said Mori, standing up, "I better get back home."

"Want me to walk with you?" Liam asked, hoping he didn't sound overeager.

"I'll be fine," she said, and to Liam's surprise she pulled him into a tight hug.

"See you tomorrow, hopefully," she said after releasing him, "Guess I'll have to see Vasilio too, but he's not so bad when he's not being an interfering prude."

Liam laughed, and watched Mori as she and her Misdreavus turned around the corner back into New Court. His heart and mind were more than full enough for the long walk back to White Gardens.


	12. Chapter 12

Liam found Mori sitting at the fountain in the middle of New Court with a scowl on her face when he came to meet up for their planned trip to Feather and Petal Street. Liam was pleased to see she had been allowed to come with them, but when she looked up and saw him approaching, it seemed like she only barely returned the compliment.

"I got my phone and iPod confiscated," said Mori, darkly, "And I have to be back by four."

Liam noticed she was wearing the hat Vasilio had been wearing the night before, but decided not to comment on it. Vasilio arrived a few minutes later.

"Good, we're all here," said Vasilio. Mori seemed to be trying very hard not to look at or acknowledge him.

"Are we walking?" asked Liam. Vasilio shook his head.

"Too far," he said, "Let's take the bus."

They rode about six stops into town on the Bus 104, Vasilio talking to Liam most of the way about his battles against Sylvia the previous evening. He was in the middle of praising the power of Sylvia's Duosion when Mori finally threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Why don't you just say 'I think she's hot and getting to battle her makes me feel special' and spare us the breakdown?" she said. Liam snorted.

"Well, I did finally get you to talk to me again," said Vasilio, smiling sheepishly.

"Don't get used to it," said Mori, but Liam thought he noticed some of tension in her face leave as they got off the bus together at Feather and Petal Street.

Feather and Petal Street turned out to be a walking street through an old-fashioned neighborhood filled with vendors and shops selling everything from bootleg merchandise to tourist junk to live Pokemon in small cages. A large number of Pokemon wandered freely throughout the network of narrow streets, and not just the Alolan Rattatas scurrying on the ground. Marills watered the flower stalls; Torkoals carried steamers filled with baozi and jiaozi on their backs. Snubbulls outside of shops growled at passers-by they suspected were browsing without intention to buy. Liam even saw a Snorlax outside of shop selling bamboo water pipes smoking lazily from a giant water pipe of its own. Vasilio pointed out the shops that sold things trainers were likely to need, including a stall selling evolutionary stones and fossils of suspicious origin, a man selling an enormous collection of allegedly-ancient amulet coins, and a tiny shop tucked away in an alley selling rare and expensive PokeBalls. But the real reason they were there became clear when Vasilio guided them through a small door off the main walking street.

Liam felt a little sick as he stepped into the large, brightly-lit room with blue tile on the floor. All around him, he saw fish tanks stacked to the ceiling filled with Pokemon: schools of staring-eyed Magikarp, writhing swarms of Krabbys and Kinglers, menacing Carvanha looking hungrily down at him. Liam stopped short.

"I don't like this," he said.

The other two looked at him curiously.

"Don't like what?" asked Vasilio.

"Fish," said Liam, doing his best not to look at the hundreds of eyes he knew were looking at them from behind the glass.

"Fish?" laughed Mori, "They're just Pokemon."

"I don't like fish Pokemon," said Liam, still looking at his feet, "I don't like the way they look at me, I don't like the way they breathe, I don't like anything about them."

"C'mon, dude," said Vasilio, "Wort has Carvanha in his room and they don't bother you."

"Have you noticed that I don't go anywhere near that tank?" asked Liam.

Mori laughed.

"You don't have to look at the fish," she said, "But stay with us. I don't want to lose track of you."

So Liam followed them through the maze of fish tanks, doing his best not to focus on the sounds of flopping and of scaly bodies bumping against the glass. At one point, he gave a small jump on turning a corner and finding himself face to face with a vicious-looking Qwilfish in a tank of its own. Vasilio ultimately decided to buy a Barboach, which the owner of the store fished out of the tank with a Good Rod and handed to Vasilio inside a Pokeball. Liam breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped back out onto the main street.

"I can't believe you're that scared of fish," sniggered Mori.

"I can't believe you paid money for a Barboach," said Liam to Vasilio.

"I've got a tank of water Pokemon in my room at home," said Vasilio. "I like buying something new every time I come here."

Liam shuddered at the thought and privately made a mental note never to sleep over at Vasilio's house. He was wondering when he would be allowed to go back home where there weren't any staring-eyed fish Pokemon when they turned a corner and found themselves on a side street filled with stalls selling Pokemon in small cages. Liam's mood was instantly improved, and he spent a quarter of an hour wandering from stall to stall and looking at the different Pokemon for sale. One Pokemon in particular caught his attention: a ruffled-looking Murkrow with a deep gash in its beak.

"How much is that Murkrow?" he asked the vendor.

"1,600 Pokedollars," said the man, showing a mouth full of rotted teeth, "A very rare bird Pokemon."

"Oh, please," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes, "Look, my friend my be brand new to Nanzo, but I'm not. A Murkrow in that shape is worth 600 at most, maybe 1000 with that cage it comes in."

"I can do 1,400, but no lower," said the man to Liam.

"Don't listen to this guy," said Vasilio, taking Liam by the arm and pulling him away, "He's trying to screw you over."

"I don't have that much anyways," said Liam, but he still looking longingly back at the black bird.

At around 3:00 Liam reminded Mori that she was expected home before 4:00. She looked a little annoyed with him, but she agreed to go back on the condition that they stopped by the foreign PokeMart and bought Mori a RageCandyBar. They took the same bus that they came in back to New Court. Liam and Vasilio walked Mori to the bottom of her apartment building in New Court as she munched on the last of her treat. They sat talking together outside the metal apartment door until three minutes to four, when Mori stood up, looked at them both, sighed, and walked through the metal door and up the stairs without a word.

Liam and Vasilio walked to the fountain in the middle New Court and sat down together.

"Mori can see us from her room when we're sitting here," said Vasilio, "I like to hang out here whenever she's grounded. Just so she knows someone is thinking about her, even if she doesn't have her phone."

Liam looked at Vasilio curiously.

"Mori told me you liked Sylvia," said Liam. Vasilio nodded.

"Is she the only person you like?" asked Liam, looking meaningfully at Vasilio. Vasilio looked around them to make sure there were not other foreigners before answering.

"Look," he said, very seriously, "I love Mori. She's my best friend and I worry about her a lot. But she's not exactly…"

Vasilio glanced around again before continuing.

"If she was interested she would have let me know," he finished.

"And if she was interested?"

Vasilio sighed.

"I think a lot would have to change first," he said, looking up at Mori's distant bedroom window, "You haven't known her as long as I have. You haven't seen the way she hurts and gets hurt. I don't want to get my heart broken by Mori. And if you want my advice, don't get yours broken by her either."

Liam bit his lip, trying not to let on both how personal and frustrating he found Vasilio's words.

"Anyways, I'm glad she hasn't asked," Vasilio added, "Because I don't think I could say no. You know that look she gives you?"

Liam nodded. He knew exactly the look.

"Well," said Vasilio, standing up and stretching, "I think we'll do a better job of entertaining Mori if we let my Skiddo have a rematch against your Weedle. You up for it?"

Liam's heart and mind were still in tangles, but he decided he was up for it. His Weedle handily defeated Skiddo for a second time, although he was beginning to suspect that Vasilio was going easy on him to help his Weedle level. As Weedle's final Poison Sting knocked out his friend's Skiddo, his Weedle began to glow brightly.

"Yes!" said Liam, eagerly. He and Vasilio watched as his Weedle metamorphosed into a glossy Kakuna.

"Well," said Vasilio, "That's progress. You should start using that thing against wild Pokemon."

Liam nodded, be he was hardly paying attention. He reached down and picked up his Kakuna, looking at it with pride. What his friend didn't know was that this was the first time Liam had ever evolved a Pokemon. He rarely battled with his Eevee, and while he knew Sneasel could evolve in some complicated way, Liam wasn't really interested. And those had been his only two Pokemon until yesterday.

"I think I'm gonna take my Kakuna home to show my mom," said Liam.

"Okay," said Vasilio, "I'll see you on Monday, then."

Liam was a little surprised Vasilio let him escape so easily, but he certainly didn't mind. He waved goodbye to Vasilio, looked back up at Mori's distant room one more time, and started walking home with his Kakuna in his arms.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hold it still."

It was Monday, and the first lab of the semester in Professor Wort's class. They were using evolutionary stones to evolve a Pokemon then taking readings on some kind of device Liam didn't really understand. Working with Stephanie had a lot of advantages, but it never made Liam look or feel smart. And Liam was learning in this lab that when it came to the methodical calmness needed in a lab assignment, she was very much his superior.

"I'm trying," muttered Liam, as he did his best to hold the strange device as steady as possible while still pointing it at the Sunkern Stephanie was holding. His hands were trembling, partially from nerves and partially because he seemed to tremble whenever he had to interact with Stephanie.

"Okay," said Stephanie, her manner cool and calm, "I'm going to use the Sun Stone."

She touched the orange stone to the small Pokemon, and it instantly began to give off a bright glow and rose a few inches out of Stephanie's hands. The device in Liam's hands began charting a curve of some kind across its small screen as he did his best to keep it pointed at the small Pokemon. Within a few seconds, the process was over, and Stephanie set the smiling Sunflora on the lab station in front of them.

"Alright," said Stephanie, "Let's record our data."

"Right," said Liam, setting down the device on the table in front of them, "Which data are we recording, again?"

Stephanie pointed to the screen.

"This is the energy release curve," she explained, "It's a chart of the energy the Sunkern gave off as it evolved."

"Ah," said Liam.

"So, we copy the ERC onto the chart right here," continued Stephanie, pointing to their lab sheet, "Then we can use the chart to calculate the initial onset rate and the average energy release."

"And, how do we do that?" asked Liam, awkwardly. Stephanie gave glanced over at Liam and gave a small smile.

"It's pretty easy. The initial onset rate is just the peak energy value divided by the time from the beginning for the evolution to when the energy value peaks. The average energy release is even simpler. You divide the total energy released by the total time of the reaction."

"And… how do I find the total energy released?" asked Liam, looking at the curve on the lab sheet as if it were an ancient hieroglyph.

"It's at the bottom of the screen," said Stephanie, pointing to a small number in the lower right corner of the device's display. Liam flared his nostrils.

"I'm sorry you find it so confusing," said Stephanie. Liam wasn't sure whether to find her remark endearing or infuriating.

"It's cool that you don't," said Liam, smiling embarrassedly.

"I find it interesting," she replied, " I want to be a Pokemon pharmacist and use science to help Pokemon grow and stay healthy."

"So, like a Pokemon center nurse?"

Stephanie shook her head.

"I want to research new and more accessible methods of healing Pokemon. A lot of the best Pokemon medicine right now is either too expensive for trainers or too unpalatable for Pokemon. I want to help trainers make fewer trips to Pokemon centers and do more Pokemon care on their own."

"That is actually really cool," said Liam. Stephanie smiled.

"But before any of that, I need to finish this lab," she said, beginning to make calculations in her neat, confident handwriting on the margins of their lab sheet. Liam did his best to help out, but by this point he was resigned to the fact that Stephanie was the brains of their lab team.

As they sat back down at their desks (Stephanie still carrying the Sunflora in her arms), Wort began drawing his own graphs on the whiteboard.

"Your results from the lab should look something like this," he said, pointing to the first graph.

"Oops," Liam heard Mori mutter behind him.

"This is a typical energy curve for a stone-induced evolution," he continued. He pointed to the second graph. "What about this one?"

Ruth's hand shot up.

"Leveling-induced evolution in a first-stage Pokemon," said Ruth, in the unusually enunciated accent she adopted whenever she answered a question.

"Exactly," said Wort, "Now, these two curves are quite different. Why is that?"

Stephanie raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Thibault."

"The energy from the leveling evolution takes longer to peak and peaks at a lower point," said explained, "and the reaction as a whole takes longer."

"Let's theorize for a moment," said Wort, stroking his dark beard this his long fingers, "Why is stone-induced evolution more vigorous than evolution caused by leveling up?"

Rain raised her hand.

"Maybe Pokemon that evolve by stone are usually stronger than Pokemon evolving for the first time by levelling," she said.

"Well," said Professor Wort, "Let's see if we can think of any exceptions to that."

Liam raised his hand at once.

"Yes, Mr. Holbrook."

"The Pokemon we just evolved is a low-level Sunflora," said Liam, "It's not really a very… powerful Pokemon… at all."

"It's seems to me that points us to another question," said Wort, nodding, "Where does energy come from in stone evolutions?"

There was a short pause.

"Ms. Shaw, what do you think," said Professor Wort, pointing at Mori, who had not raised her hand. Liam looked over at her curiously, realizing this was the first time had heard her last name.

"From the stones?" said Mori, in the weirdly small voice she used when talking to teachers.

"Take a look at the Sun Stone you used in that experiment," said Wort. The entire class shuffled papers and pencil cases around on their desk in search of their used Sun Stones.

"It's like a normal rock," said Jonah, holding up the stone he and rain had used to evolve their Sunflora.

"Yes," said Wort, stroking his beard, "The translucent orange color is completely gone. That stone you have in your hands now is no different than an ordinary rock from outside. Now, science doesn't know for sure whether the energy released during stone-induced evolutions come from the stones themselves or whether the stones simply activate some latent energy within the Pokemon, but its generally hypothesized to be the former based on the ERCs. Can you tell me why?"

Stephanie raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Thibault."

"Stone evolutions produce a huge amount of energy in a short amount of time," said Stephanie, "Which could mean that the Pokemon's body has no need to regulate the energy produced in evolution because that energy comes from outside the Pokemon instead of inside it. It's not cautious because it's not evolving using its own energy."

"Exactly," said Wort in his low, matter-of-fact voice, "Without exception, Pokemon that evolve using stones can evolve at any time, regardless of their level. While Pokemon evolution is still a mystery, the energy released by evolution can give us important and significant clues. Alright, let's do an exit slip."

Liam's locker was next to Stephanie's, but that didn't often lead to meaningful conversation. Somehow, being outside of class made Liam even more tongue-tied than usual, but as Stephanie but away her Pokemon Biology textbook after class and collected her math book out of her unusually tidy locker, Liam decided to try his luck.

"Thanks for all your help during the lab," said Liam, without quite making eye contact. Stephanie smiled.

"You're my partner," she said, "I wasn't going to leave you behind."

"Well, thanks anyways" said Liam awkwardly, "It's nice to work with someone who knows Pokemon biology."

"See you in Tactics," said Stephanie as she closed her locker. Liam felt his face turning red as he watched her walk down the hall towards her next class.

"That was good," said Mori, giving him a small flick, "That was almost a normal conversation, and you said some nice things."

"Not sure it did any good," said Liam, pulling his math book from beneath a pile of notebooks he hadn't used yet.

"Oh, it didn't," said Mori, "I don't think you're her type."

Liam turned to Mori with a confused expression.

"And… who is?" he asked, shutting his locker a little more forcefully than he intended.

"Probably no one," said Mori, as they starting walking in the direction of Professor Alexander's math class, "I can't image Stephanie pining after anyone. She's not really the type to be interested in boys in a concrete way."

"And you don't know any insider information?" asked Liam, almost in a whisper.

"I don't usually get invited to sleepovers, if that's what you're asking," said Mori, "I don't know any secrets. I mean, I have some pretty good guesses about a lot of people; I'm not an idiot."

Liam gave a small grunt.

"You're not an idiot, you're a boy," said Mori, giving him another flick, "Guys are about as observant as Zubats when it comes to other people's feelings. "

"Even Vasilio?" asked Liam, as they approached the door to Mr. Alexander's room.

"Don't tell him" whispered Mori, "but there's two girls in this 8th grade class that are madly in love with him. It's probably because they don't talk to him. He seems way more mysterious and aloof when you don't sit next to him."

Vasilio was already at his desk when they took their usual seats in the back of the class.

"What kept you two?" asked Vasilio.

"Just giving Liam girl advice," said Mori, smirking, "I'm afraid Stephanie Thibault-Holbrook is still very much a work in progress."

Liam shushed her, but her words reminded him of something from the last lesson.

"By the way," said Liam "Your last name is Shaw?"

"Sort of," said Mori, as she fished her beaten-up notebook out of her purple Gengar backpack and set it on her desk.

"Sort of?" asked Liam. Vasilio started to motion something at Liam, but Mori responded before Liam figured out what his friend was trying to communicate.

"Mori is my birth last name," she said, leaning over towards Liam and enunciating each word as if it was something painful that had to be done correctly, "Shaw is my adopted family's name. The name on my passport is Grace Hanako Mori Shaw. I go by Mori because it's short, and easy, and it should make it easier for my relatives to find me if anyone ever comes looking. Does that answer your question?"

Her tone made it so clear the topic was closed Liam didn't do anything other than nod. Vasilio raised his eyebrows in a way that Liam clearly understood meant "I tried to warn you." Mori was quiet for the rest of the class, and for the first time that year they took notes on their own without passing notes.


	14. Chapter 14

Liam had just set down his completed pop quiz on Professor Werner's desk and stepped out into the hall when he found himself face to face with Sylvia.

"Hey Liam," she said, smiling and friendly as usual, "Want to come to lunch with us?"

"Us meaning who?" asked Liam, a little confused and not wanting to abandon his usual lunch plans with Vasilio and Mori.

"Me, Rain, Stephanie, and Ruth," said Sylvia, "C'mon, you should come. Vasilio and Mori have been hogging you ever since you got here."

"Guilty as charged," said Vasilio, pushing past Liam and giving him a small jab with his elbow, "We'll be fine. You should go."

Liam followed Sylvia to the main gate, where he found Stephanie, Rain, and Ruth petting the guard's Mightyena.

"Real vicious beast," said Liam, chuckling.

"Well, it has known us for a long time," said Sylvia, "Guys, let's go."

"Aww," said Ruth, who very reluctantly stopped scratching the Mightyena behind the ears and rushed to catch up with the others.

Liam was excited to be out walking with the girls, but it made him more self-conscious than usual. He felt particularly sloppy and slouched next to his confident and mature female classmates, smiling and laughing with both friendlyness and poise. Well, Liam thought poise might be on overstatement for Ruth, who was about a head shorter than the rest and carried her restless eagerness out of the classroom with her.

"So, where do you want to eat?" asked Sylvia.

"Umm..."

Liam hadn't eaten anywhere other than the restaurant with the short tables and the noodle stall across the main road, and he didn't feel like either really fit the expedition he had been invited on. Sylvia spotted his indecision.

"Have you been to Spinny Tables?"

"I have no idea what that means," said Liam, with a small grin.

"It's what we call that restaurant over there," said Rain, pointing to a restaurant half a block down from where they were standing.

Liam quickly understood the name. Every one of the green tables had a spinning glass cover where the dishes were set and then rotated around the table to each hungry diner. Sylvia, Rain, and Ruth negotiated the order together, with Ruth playing the advocate for more food, Rain for less, and Sylvia acting as mediator. To his disappointment, Stephanie sat across from Liam, and they listened in silence to the amusing performance their three friends were giving to the waiter.

"We don't all want to be thin like you," protested Ruth to Rain as they set back down.  
"I just don't want to get too much," said Rain, with a slight air of superiority.

"Do you eat a lot, Liam?" asked Sylvia.

"Yep," said Liam, feeling self-conscious again.

"See," said Ruth, "Don't starve him."

Liam thanked Ruth in his mind as he looked awkwardly around at the four girls, wondering if he was expected to lead the conversation.

"So, Liam," said Sylvia, leaning forward in a businesslike manner, "How are you liking Everspring so far?"

"Its, uh, really good," said Liam, feeling suddenly like he was under cross examination.

"Making plenty of friends?" continued Sylvia, in what Liam was beginning to suspect was a facetious tone.

"Oh, leave him alone," said Rain, "She's making fun of you for latching on to Vasi and Mori so quickly."

"Well, I did bump into them the moment I stepped through the front gate," said Liam, a little apologetically. Sylvia laughed.

"I'm just picking on you," she smiled, "I could have talked to you all I wanted last Friday, but I was battling Vasi instead."

Ruth's eyes lit up as if struck by a sudden idea.

"What Pokemon do you have?" she blurted out, barely swallowing the tea she had just been sipping.

"Just the three I have with me," said Liam, pointing to the Pokeball on his belt, "And my family has a Furfrou. But she doesn't ever battle, so she doesn't really count."

"Hmm," said Ruth, "But, Sneasel is a very rare Pokemon. Where did you get it?"

"My dad does rural development stuff," said Liam, "I went with him to Mt. Silver two years ago and I caught Sneasel while I was there. I… kinda went on purpose just to catch the Sneasel, actually. I was really excited."

"Probably not as excited since Rain has been kicking your Sneasel's butt three times a week," said Sylvia.

"Hey," Rain objected, "I am helping him learn."

"Beating him with a Pokemon your boyfriend gave you," said Sylvia, wagging a finger at Rain in mock disapproval.

"Wait, really?" asked Liam.

"I traded him for it," said Rain, crossing her arms.

"I wish I had a boyfriend with rare Pokemon," mumbled Ruth, as if to herself.

"Having a lazy brother with rare Pokemon is even better, trust me," said Sylvia, "So, Liam, you got a girlfriend with rare Pokemon back in Johto?"

"Very much no,"said Liam. Sylvia and Rain looked meaningfully at each other.

"If you're going to interrogate him about his life, at least ask nice things," put in Stephanie.

"Yeah, we need him to stay," said Ruth. Liam raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sure Vasi has told you about our class situation," said Sylvia, "We're a small class and we've been getting smaller for the past two years. It's nice to have someone new."

"So, what you're saying is I could be a Trubbish with a backpack and sneakers and you'd still invite me to lunch," said Liam. Ruth looked a little shocked.

"You are so suspicious of my motives!" said Sylvia, laughing. "I'm glad you're not a Trubbish. Believe me, I've had a Trubbish disguised as an older brother all my life and it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"You are still being mean," said Stephanie.

"I can be as mean as I want to Arthur," retorted Sylvia, "And trust me, if there was a meanness quota for him, I would have surpassed it by the time I was five."

"He is a very nice guy," said Ruth, staring off with a dreamy look on her face.

The food arrived. As the waitress set each dish on the spinning glass, Ruth began turning the nearest dish towards her with a voracious look in her eyes. Liam wouldn't have pegged the short, round-faced Ruth as a big eater, but the way she shoveled food onto her plate and into her mouth quickly showed him he had been wrong. She relished each bite and made a huge variety of odd sounds that Liam found both distracting and weirdly endearing. Liam quickly learned that if he wanted food, he had to take the initiative and spin the dishes towards himself, but with Ruth at the table, he didn't feel self-conscious about eating as much as he wanted.

"Since you interrogated me," said Liam, a little hesitantly, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," said Sylvia, using her chopsticks to move some of the food from Ruth's bowl into her own.

"Are you and Arthur from Nanzo?"

"Our parents are," said Sylvia, not seeming to mind the question, "Me and Arthur were both born in Unova, so we're Unovan citizens, which is why we can come to the school."

"I am fwom Fewum," said Ruth, her mouth full of rice and meat.

"I guessed," said Liam.

"Me too," said Rain, "The school has more students from Ferrum than anywhere else, except Unova."

"Not so many from Kalos," said Stephanie, taking a sip of tea.

"That's too bad," said Liam, instantly wondering if he had given himself away.

"Oh, I don't fit in with people from Kalos anyways," said Stephanie, "My family has been overseas my whole life. When I visit Kalos, they tell me I sound like I'm from Unova or Galar."

"Here's to being homeless," said Sylvia, lifting her tea. They all joined in her toast.

There was a lot of food left over by the time they had eaten their fill. As Sylvia (at her own insistence) paid the bill, Ruth scooped huge amounts of extra food into a styrofoam to-go box.

"Still hungry?" asked LIam.

"For later," said Ruth, simply.

"Don't eat that in class," said Sylvia, spotting what her friend was doing.

"I won't," insisted Ruth.

"I seem to recall an incident," said Sylvia, "When a certain person at this table started eating leftovers out of their pocket during class."

"One time," said Ruth seriously, holding up a single finger.

"It was gross," said Rain, trying to catch Liam's eye. He did his best to ignore her.

As they walked back to school, Liam suddenly remembered when he had seen their group coming back from lunch last week on turned to Ruth, who was sipping on a bubble tea she had bought at the corner store.

"Ruth," he said, "You know something about this Team Power stuff, right?"

Ruth looked up at Liam curiously, and made a strange cooing noise he took for a yes.

"So, I've seen more Team Power stuff around town since that first poster went up," said Liam, "The one the guard fed to the Muk. And I was wondering… what was Team Power like back in the Hundred Schools of Battle? Why don't they exist anymore?"

Ruth stopped and turned to face Liam.

"They were bad," she said, as if delivering a complete and sufficient explanation.

"Okay," said Liam, "What do you mean, bad?"

Ruth looked at him with a confused expression.

"Very bad," she said, simply. Seeing that Liam wasn't satisfied with that answer either, she gave a small sigh and took off her backpack. Setting it on the ground, she took out a pink notebook with color-coded tabs, and began flipping through it.

"The School of Power took control of Nanzo and all the surrounding regions at the end of the Warring States Period," she read, as if giving a lecture, "They held to an ideology that respected neither compassion nor tradition, but believed that Pokemon battles could be won by strength and tactics alone. Pokemon were required to submit completely to their trainers or face punishment. The School of Power ruled for a hundred years, suppressing the other schools and even destroying some of them completely. Their laws were harsh and absolute, and even the founders of the school were executed by their own apprentices as criminals."

"See," she finished, shutting her notebook, "Very bad."

"Yeah," said Liam, "I get it. So… what happened to them?"

"The School of Virtue beat them," explained Ruth, putting her pink notebook back into her backpack, "They had a rebellion and burned down their academy. The Grandmaster of Virtue defeated the Grandmaster of Power in the Pokemon battle that lasted three days."

"Wow," said Liam, "So why are they coming back now, then?"

Ruth squinted at him.

"Because of very bad people," she said, and started off in the direction of the school gate, leaving Liam following slowly and thoughtfully in her wake.


	15. Chapter 15

"I've just done something brilliant," said Taylor as he burst into Miss Snyder's office. It was Thursday, and Liam, Vasilio, Ruth, and Mori were sitting in the informal student lounge during their short break between second and third period, passing around a single bag of chips that Ruth had bought for herself.

"Do tell," said Vasilio, feeding a chip into Mori's mouth.

"I told Sylvia our band would perform at the lock-in," said Taylor, raising his eyebrows as if the brilliant part was obvious.

"And?" asked Vasilio.

"She said it was a great idea, and so I said if we were gonna perform, we'd need Arthur for at least three hours of practice," explained Taylor, "And she said that was okay."

"You know," said Miss Snyder, looking up from the paperwork she was filling out at her desk, "Sylvia told me she was gonna ask you if your band would perform today. So, did you trick her, or did she trick you?"

"Don't know, don't care," said Taylor, waving away her remarks, "It means you need to come to the Garage this Saturday, Liam, and watch us play."

"Not worth it," said Mori, "Their songs are terrible."

"You can't come anyways," said Vasilio, giving Mori a flick, "So your opinion doesn't matter."

"I'll tell Robert and Rebecca and make sure they can come," said Taylor, darting out of the office and down the hall.

"What's the name of your band?" asked Liam, as Ruth snatched the bag of chips from his hand.

"Now, for the record," Vasilio began, "This name was Taylor's idea."

"Tell him," said Mori, elbowing Vasilio in the side.

"We're called I Am Munchlax," he said, as Mori gave a derisive snort.

"That's actually amazing," said Liam, "What do you play, anyways?"

"I can play a few things," said Vasilio, snatching at the chip bag Ruth held just out of his reach, "Guitar, drums, piano. But I play bass for our band. Taylor and Arthur do guitars, Robert does drums, and Rebecca is our violinist."

"Taylor tried to make Exploud their lead singer," sadi Mori, smirking.

"Yeah, that didn't end well," admitted Vasilio, "Now he just uses Exploud as an amplifier, which works better than you would expect."

"Why don't you like them, Mori?" asked Liam.

"It's just boring garage rock," said Mori, "Taylor's a great singer, but it's too mainstream for me."

"Mori needs angst," said Vasilio, "If we knew a few Tool songs she wouldn't complain."

Liam began humming the melody to "Vicarious," but Mori didn't seem to notice.

"Don't you all have classes to go to?" asked Miss Snyder, "This was still a school when I last checked."

Ruth made an small squealing noise and bolted out of the room.

"We're not that late," mumbled Mori, putting on her Gengar backpack and following Ruth out of the office.

"So, you gonna come, Liam?" asked Vasilio, picking up his backpack.

"Maybe," said Liam, sensing that his weekend was about to be booked from him again, "I'm gonna limit myself to one people thing a weekend, though."

"Whatever you want," said Vasilio, "We'll probably meet at the New Court fountain at 1;00 on Saturday. If we're not there, follow the loud music."

As they stepped out of Miss Snyder's office, they bumped into Taylor for a second time, and he seemed just as excited as he did a minute ago.

"Guess what Rebecca told me?" said Taylor, hastily pushing a strand of black hair out of his face.

"Dude, we're going to class," said Vasilio, "Also, don't you have Werner next period? He'll kill you if you're late."

Taylor waved away Vasilio's objections like a swarm of Venonats.

"Cass is supposed to be back today," he said, "Rebecca says she's coming back after lunch."

"Oh," said Vasilio, "So, we'll see her in battle class?"

"Yeah," said Taylor, stopping as if he was unsure what else to say. All three of them looked at each other for a moment.

"We need to get to class," he said, finally.

"Yep," said Vasilio, as he and Liam jogged towards Professor Alexander's math class and Taylor sprinted off towards Werner's tactics class.

The atmosphere after lunch was full of tense excitement. Almost everyone arrived at Professor Tang's Battle Class five minutes early, which was unheard of. As the minutes ticked by, the Everspring Academy High School stood in small groups and made furtive glances towards the main doors. Liam wasn't sure what the excitement was about, but it was certainly contagious. About two minutes before the bell rang, an excited shout from the outside courtyard told them the moment had finally come.

Arthur and Liz burst through the main doors carrying a female student on their shoulders as the student body broke into cheers and applause, Cass (the student on their shoulders clearly was Cass) seemed a little embarrassed by the ceremony surrounding her return, but she eagerly gave out hugs to half the high school as they swarmed around her.

The first thing Liam noticed about Cass besides her brightly-colored clothes, short brown hair, and earnest friendliness was that she had a very unsteady walk, almost as if she was shifting her body weight with every step. Liam wasn't sure if it would be rude to ask Vasilio or Mori about this, and ultimately decided on the fairly ridiculous course of waiting until it was explained to him. After the first five minutes of Battle Class were lost to greetings and tearful hugs, Coach Tang blew her whistle and called the class to order.

"Let's begin," she said, "Random Battles Friday, prepare yourself."

A few students rushed over to the Pokemon nurse, but most seemed confident, or more likely unconcerned. Liam hadn't been picked for random battles last week, but he figured his odds were still pretty good to dodge them this week. Coach Tang began rummaging around in the small black bag that held the names of the entire class.

"Cass, you're first," she said, which immediately made Liam suspicious of the entire name-drawing process, "Are you ready to battle?"

"Sure, I guess so," said Cass, seemingly unfazed by having to battle in front of the whole school in her first five minutes back. Coach Tang was reaching into the black bag again.

"Liam, you battle Cass," said Coach Tang. Liam felt a sudden rush of panic like the one from his very first battle. He noticed that the students around Cass were pointing him out to her. With a sigh intended to steady his nerves, Liam took his place on the center battlefield.

Liam had to confess that Cass struck him as a bit of ditz up to this point. Her smiley demeanor and pastel clothes fit his mental stereotype well enough, and she seemed weirdly unconcerned as she took her place at the other end of the field.

"You're a new student, huh?" she said, reaching for one of the Pokeballs on her hag. Her manner was still warm and friendly.

"Yeah," said Liam, grabbing the Pokeball with Sneasel on his belt.

"Cool," said Cass, smiling. In a sudden, smooth movement, Cass switched from her awkward, crooked posture to an almost aggressive stance, her Pokeball in her left hand. As she did so, Liam her the other students begin sort of stomp-stomp-clap rhythm, shouting "Cass!" along with each clap. It quickly built into a chant so loud that Liam was sure every classroom in the school could hear it, and younger students were soon looking down from the railings above. It would have been inspiring if it didn't make Liam feel very alone and outnumbered. Cass pushed a strand of brown her off her face and looked at Liam with a strange glint in her eye.

"Go," she said, "Electabuzz."

The black-and-yellow striped Pokemon gave a snarl at it took the field.

"Sneasel," said Liam, with a loud but quavering voice, "I choose you!"

Sneasel sprang onto the field with the keen alertness it always displayed in battle.

"Electabuzz," said Cass, "Use Brick Break."

Electabuzz lunged forward with a powerful spring and brought a massive fist down on Sneasel. Liam realized immediately this would be more difficult even than fighting Rain.

"Sneasel, use Faint Attack!"

Sneasel seemed to vanish for a moment before landing a well-placed strike on Electabuzz with its sharp claws. The Pokemon seemed to stagger.

"Electabuzz," said Cass, "Use Screech."

Liam barely restrained himself from covering his own ears as the Electabuzz let out a sound like two metal surfaces grinding against each other. He shook himself and quickly chose Sneasel's next move.

"Sneasel, Fury Swipes."

It wasn't the best move in this situation, Liam knew, but it felt like his only chance against this higher-level Pokemon was to land a critical hit. However, his decision was almost instantly revealed as a mistake. On Sneasel's second slash, it gave a shudder, and Liam saw at once the trademark symptoms of paralysis.

"Ah, crap," he muttered. He had forgotten Electabuzz's Pokemon power.

Sneasel's paralysis kept it from completing the Fury Swipes, and left it wide open for Cass's Electabuzz to land another attack.

"Electabuzz," she shouted, "Brick Break again!"

Sneasel stood no chance of avoiding the clenched fist that crashed down on it from above. Although it managed to survive the attack, Liam could tell it was just hanging on.

"Sneasel," he said, wondering what he could do. As he looked over at Cass, he saw a strange look in her eyes. It wasn't the confident gleam he had seen earlier, either. It was pity. Pity for his Pokemon.

"Sneasel, return," said Liam, calling his Pokemon back and pushing the hair out of his face. The other students applauded Cass loudly, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she walked over to him with the same expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said, "That wasn't a fair matchup for your Sneasel. You did the right thing to call it back. Liam…"

She held out her hand, which he shook.

"It's nice to meet you and your Sneasel," she said, smiling.

"Thanks," said Liam. He felt like he understood exactly why everyone had welcomed Cass back so eagerly now.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hi, Liam."

Liam almost dropped the textbook he was pulling out of his locker and whirled around to see Cass standing next to him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry," she said, laughing, "I honestly wasn't trying to surprise you. It's just my locker is right here."

"Seems like everyone's locker is right here," said Liam, glancing over at Stephanie, whose locker continued to intimidate him with its extraordinary organization and neatness.

"You're in 9th grade, right?" asked Cass, whose locker turned out to be as neat as Stephanie's but with the mitigating factor (in Liam's opinion) of being covered in cutesy Pokemon stickers and pictures of romantic locations in Kanto, Kalos, and Galar.

"Yeah," said Liam, "But I just started last week on Monday."

"Has anyone tried to recruit you for Youth Group yet?" she asked. Liam nodded vigorously.

"Well, I won't try then," she said, closing her locker, "But you should at least come with us to the Woven Bowl for dinner. It's a smaller group, mostly just the people from New Court."

"I've never been to Woven Bowl," said Liam, closing his as well and beginning to follow her down the hall.

"Oh, then you have to come," said Cass, eagerly, "There's a stage for live music, and they sell fresh bread, and coffee, and ice cream, and everything about it is just…"

Cass closed her eyes and gave a satisfied "Mmm."

"The food is only just okay," said Vasilio, joining them, "But they've got a salad bar. And their pasta isn't half bad. She trying to drag you into hanging out there before Youth Group? He doesn't go, you know."

"I just wanted to show him Woven Bowl, since you haven't," said Cass, "Anyways, I'll see you guys later. I've got Unovan History with Shrike."

Cass turned into Shrike's room as they continued towards Werner's tactics class. Vasilio was giving Liam an unusual look.

"Seems to me like you basically gave her a yes about Woven Bowl," said Vasilio.

"I guess I didn't say no," said Liam, as they turned into Werner's room.

"You are such a sucker for girls," said Vasilio, grinning, "Even girls you literally just met."

Liam shushed Vasilio as they sat down together and started on Werner's bellwork.

Mori hadn't eaten lunch with Vasilio and Liam since the incident after Youth Group. She wouldn't say where she was going, but Vasilio had his own strong suspicions.

"She's sneaking off with Jonah," he explained as they ordered fried potatoes seasoned with a spicy powder from a woman with a pushcart, "They don't leave together or come back together, but you know that look she has when she gets back from lunch. Kinda flushed and agitated? That's what the look means."

"Ah," said Liam, feeling a pang of jealousy he knew was completely unjustified.

"It's her risk," he continued, passing money to the woman and collecting their potatoes, "I just hope she doesn't get found out. She's pushing it now, and she's already one more blowup away from being grounded through the New Year Break."

"Yeah, that would suck," said Liam, spearing a spicy potato on a toothpick and blowing on it. They were both silent for a moment.

"This… Mori and Jonah thing," began Liam, as they sat down on a curb to eat, "How long has it been going on?"

"It's new this semester, so far as I know," said Vasilio, releasing his Amaura from its Pokeball, "Probably started with them texting over break, I guess."

"He… doesn't really seem like her type," muttered Liam, releasing his own Sneasel.

Vasilio laughed.

"Doesn't he? He's not a real bad boy, but he's about as close as we get in this place. You know…"

Vasilio gestured vaguely to his earlobes.

"I like Jonah, so I'm not gonna interfere," said Vasilio, stroking his Amaura's neck, "But he's getting played if he thinks he gonna get a serious relationship out of this."

"You don't think much of Mori's dating choices," said Liam, offering a potato to his Sneasel, which turned it down after sniffing it suspiciously.

"Yeah, I don't," said Vasilio, "I think she mostly dates for the excitement, and the, well…"

Vasilio raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"I agree that they don't really suit each other," he continued, "But it's not a weird to me as it is to you, I guess."

On their way back to the school's main gate, Liam and Vasilio found Taylor, Arthur, and Rebecca giving an impromptu concert on the curb to a few gathered students. Liam had never spoken to Rebecca, but he recognized her as a short, slim 10th grader from Ferrum. They were playing a song Liam didn't recognize, but assumed was probably one of their "street songs," with Rebecca playing a violin melody over Arthur and Taylor's guitars.

"Show offs," muttered Vasilio.

As they stood and listened, Mori joined them.

"Are you guys seriously playing 'Only One' again?" she asked, crossing her arms. Liam looked at Mori, trying to see if he could recognize the "look" Vasilio had mentioned earlier without her realizing that he was staring.

"What?" asked Mori.

Clearly Liam wasn't as subtle as he had hoped. It may have just been his imagination, but he thought Mori's cheeks look red, and her breathing unusually quick.

"Nothing," said Liam quickly, "Where have you been?"

Mori gave him a piercing look and he immediately felt that she had seen straight into his mind and knew exactly what he and Vasilio had been talking about during lunch. Without a word, she put her headphones on and walked quickly into the school building.

Mori didn't say much for the rest of the day, or on the bus ride home. It was the first time Liam had gotten the silent treatment from her because he had done something she didn't like, and it was an uncomfortable experience. He tried to start up a conversation a few times, but she ignored him. As she got up to leave at her stop, she shoved a note into his hand. Liam unfolded it.

"I don't need another Vasi in my life. I need you on my side. Please."

Liam read the words over and over again as he sat alone on Bus 77. He was still reading it when he set his backpack down in his room at home and released his three Pokemon from their Pokeballs.

"What do you think of this, Eevee?" he said, scratching his Pokemon behind the ear. The Soothe Bell Mori had given his Eevee jingled softly. His Eevee gave a small purr.

"I know, I like her too," said Liam, sitting on the bottom on his bunk bed below where his Sneasel had perched, "I like her a lot, actually. I want to be on her side."

He reached down and picked his Kakuna up off the floor. The bug Pokemon was weirdly stiff and immobile as always, but he stroked its smooth, shiny skin as if it was as soft and furry as his Eevee.

"I don't like what's going on with Jonah, though," he continued, "I don't understand what she… I mean, you would think she would want someone who…"

He trailed off. Eevee hopped onto the bed next to him and gave another purr.

"I'm gonna go to the Woven Bowl," he said at last, "I want to talk to Cass."

His Sneasel gave a small sniff.

"Don't you start getting an attitude," said Liam, pointing up at Sneasel, "We're gonna have to have friends that beat us for a little while until we get better."

Liam recalled each of his three Pokemon, put on his favorite ragged hoodie jacket, and rushed downstairs to tell his parents that he was going to the Woven Bowl for dinner.


	17. Chapter 17

Liam had passed the Woven Bowl on the way to the Youth Group building last Friday, and had avoided getting too close to it. Based on Taylor and Vasilio's descriptions, it seemed like the kind of place where he would bump into people from school, and that usually wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to do. But Mori's note weighed heavily on him, and Cass's companionship seemed like a welcome alternative to thinking about it alone.

The Woven Bowl itself was a three-story building, with what looked like a cafe and bakery on the first floor with additional rooms for eating on the higher floors. Liam sat on the curb out front, waiting for someone he recognized. A few other foreigners walked past him as he was waiting; Liam smiled awkwardly at them and did his best to make it clear he wasn't interested in conversation. After about ten minutes, he spotted a crowd a students he recognized from school heading his way. Among them were Cass, Taylor, Arthur, and Liz, along with a few other, older students Liam knew by sight but had never talked to.

"Hi Liam!" said Cass, waving to him. Liam stood up and waved awkwardly back.

"Well, dang," said Taylor, who was carrying his guitar slung over his back, "You actually got him here, Cass. I'm glad I didn't make that bet."

Cass's unsteady gait gave Liam the impression that she was frail, but the illusion was instantly dispelled as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Sorry," she said, clearly noticing that he was uncomfortable, "I'm a hugger."

"It's okay," said Liam, trying to figure out where to put his hands as Taylor laughed.

"It only gets worse from here," he said, "Let the dude go, Cass, you've scared him enough."

Cass laughed and walked with Liam into the Woven Bowl. Liam had correctly guessed that the first floor was a sort of cafe and bakery, but it also included a small, elevated stage in one corner. It was small, warmly-lit, and full of people; some browsing the baked goods, others sitting and eating. The small number of simply-uniformed staff were assisted by an equal number of Pokemon. There was nothing fancy about it; it was a small place that served a small community, and Liam liked that. It reminded him of home.

Cass's group crowded around a small table as a waitress dropped off the menu.

"You know they do nachos here now," said Arthur, eagerly.

"Yeah, but their cheese is terrible," countered Taylor, "Bacon burger is the only perfect choice."

Liam was a little overwhelmed by the number of options, and even more so by the contradictory advice he received. Arthur continued to defend the nachos, Taylor recommended anything with bacon in it, Cass sang the praises of the club sandwich, Liz insisted on the salad bar, and August, an 11th-grader Liam had never spoken to before, demanded that he order the bibimbap.

Liam ultimately decided to take Liz's advice and order the salad bar, since he figured he could probably find something he would like and he was guaranteed seconds. As the waitress look away their menus, Taylor unpacked his guitar from his case and began setting up on the small stage.

"Any requests, anyone?" he asked, as he switched on the microphone and began tuning his guitar.

"Ooh, play that Green Day song I like'" said Cass eagerly.

"Not a street song," said Taylor, wincing slightly as he plucked his top string, "Requires a tip."

"Oh, c'mon," said Cass, "I get one freebie at least. I just got back!"

"Play her what she wants," said Liz, blowing the paper wrapper on her straw at Taylor. Taylor gave a wink and began strumming.

Liam mostly listened and looked around as the older students talked. He quickly noticed something that he hadn't on first entering the Woven Bowl: all the staff (and this included the Pokemon) seemed to have some form a disability or deformity. The Hitmonchan that brought their food had a crushed right hand, while the Nuzleaf that was scurrying around behind the counter seemed to be feeling rather than seeing its way. As Liam awkwardly served himself at the salad bar, he saw a waiter and a Vigoroth signing to each other. He was curious to find out more, but decided the awkwardness of asking Cass given her own obvious differences outweighed his curiosity.

After playing a few requests, Taylor, Arthur, Liz, and some of the others began rehearsing the songs they would be playing that night at Youth Group. This gave Liam time to talk to Cass one-on-one.

"I just lead the girls group," she explained, as they others fumbled their way through their first song, "I don't play anything. It would be kinda hard. You probably noticed I don't have the best fine motor skills."

"Yeah," said Liam, unsure how exactly to respond.

"It's okay," said Cass, smiling, "I'm not a very self-conscious person. I mean, I used to be, when I was younger, but I'm not anymore. You just get used to people staring, I guess. They'd be staring here anyways, you know?"

"Guess they would," said Liam, "How long have you been in Nanzo, anyways?"

"This is just my second year," she said, "But Everspring is basically home now. We've moved around a lot, but this is my favorite place."

"That's cool," said Liam. He was eyeing the remaining club sandwich on Cass's plate.

"Oh, you can have it," said Cass, "You're from Johto, right? That's really cool. Doesn't the Kanto-Johto League has some of the best trainers in the world?"

"Yeah, it does," said Liam, "Red is probably the most famous, but he's from Kanto. Lance, Claire, Kris, Karen, Jasmine, they're all from Johto. I grew up just a short walk away from Jasmine's gym. I used to watch her battle all the time when I was younger…. Mostly because I thought she was pretty."

Cass laughed.

"By the way," she said, "I'm really sorry about using Electabuzz against your Sneasel on Thursday. I just grabbed my strongest Pokemon without thinking. What level is your Sneasel, anyways?"

"...twenty four," Liam mumbled.

"Oh," said Cass, wincing slightly, "Yeah, that's a lot lower than my… Sorry, I wasn't trying to embarass you. I tell you what, let's have a rematch. You can choose any Pokemon you want, I'll choose a Pokemon close to its level."

Liam thought for a moment.

"My Kakuna is on level 8," he said, finally.

"Okay," said Cass, standing up unsteadily and walking over to the PC next to the counter. After a moment, she returned with a Pokeball in hand.

"Let's go outside."

Liam and Cass stood about ten meters apart on the road in front of the Woven Bowl. Chelsea, a red-haired underclassman student that was eating dinner with her family, had been volunteered as the referee by Cass.

"One Pokemon each," said Chelsea, clearly a little uncomfortable refereeing for two older students, "No items, no mega stones, no Z-Moves. Uh, begin!"

"Go, Kakuna!"

Liam's Kakuna emerged from its Pokeball in its usual rigid posture.

"I choose you," said Cass, "Pichu!"

Liam thought for a moment. Liam couldn't be sure of Pichu's moveset, but like Pikachu and Raichu, it likely relied heavily on special Electric-type moves like Thundershock. Kakuna's Harden wouldn't be of any use.

"Kakuna," she said, "Use String Shot!"

Kakuna launched a line of webbing at Cass's Pichu, catching it where it stood. The Pokemon shook itself uncomfortably.

"Pichu," said Cass, "Hit it with a Thundershock."

A small bolt of electricity zipped through the air, striking Kakuna on the head. It seemed unfazed.

"Kakuna, Poison Sting!" shouted Liam.

Kakuna launched a stinger at the Pichu, striking the Pokemon as it continued to try and free itself from the webbing. Cass frowned.

"Pichu," she said, "Don't worry about that. Use Charm."

The Pichu made a pitiful expression, gazing at Kakuna with wide eyes.

"Don't fall for that, Kakuna," said Liam, "Hit it with another Poison Sting!"

As the stinger struck, the Pichu wretched.

"Uh, the Pichu has been Poisoned," said Chelsea, suddenly remembering that she was refereeing.

"Ouch," said Cass, "Well, it's not over yet. Pichu, hit Kakuna with another Thundershock!"

Pichu's attack connected, and Kakuna let out a small noise Liam took as a yelp of pain. He let out a heavy breath.

"Kakuna, Poison Sting again!"

Cass's Pichu was clearly in trouble by now. Still slowed by the webbing and feeling the increasing effects of poison, it struggled to focus as Cass called out its next attack.

"Pichu, use Echoed Voice!" she said. "You can do it."

The Pichu did its best to shout, but the attack barely touched Liam's Kakuna, which remained as still and stoic as ever.

"Kakuna," Liam began, but he hesitated. Cass's Pichu was in a pitiful state, and finishing it off felt almost pointlessly cruel. He looked over at Cass, trying to catch her expression. Her eyes were still intense, focused on the battle.

"Kakuna, finish it off," said Liam, finally, "Poison Sting!"

The attack knocked the Pichu off its feet and it lay in a dead faint on the concrete. Liam's Kakuna made a pleased rasping sound at he recalled it to its Pokeball.

"Pichu, good job," said Cass, returned her fainted Pokemon to its ball.

"Sorry," said Liam, walking up to his opponent apologetically.

"It's okay, don't apologize," said Cass, smiling, "You gave me every advantage. Your Kakuna is well-trained."

"Thanks," said Liam, pushing his brown hair out of his face and smiling sheepishly.

When they returned to their table, the others were packing up their instruments.

"Gotta go," said Taylor, "Youth Group starts in twenty minutes."

Liam walked out with his friends and, after getting another tight hug from Cass, watched as they walked off in the direction of the Youth Group. Rather than going home, he decided to hang around the Woven Bowl a bit longer, seeing everything there was to see. He looked at the different breads, watched the Pokemon and waiters as they worked, and did his best not to look conspicuous enough to tempt anyone into striking up a conversation. Upstairs, he found a room selling a wide assortment of interesting minority (and Pokemon) crafts made of wood and cloth. This room was quieter, and let him spend a lot of time thinking about his evening as he browsed the quaint little store.

Cass was clearly big deal in the school, but she was also someone he wanted to be friends with. He liked her openness, and her compassion. She was clearly a great trainer too, even if he had beaten her. And although he could almost here Vasilio laughing at his thoughts, he had to confess she was cute.

As Liam handed the money for his salad to a waitress with a large, dark blotch on her face, he was struck with a sudden idea. He checked through his wallet, carefully counting up his money. With the 240 pokedollars he had won in his battle with Cass, he now had over 1000 pokedollars in his wallet. With just a little bit more…

Liam decided he was definitely stopping by the Garage tomorrow. Not necessarily because he wanted to hang around with Vasilio's band, but because he wanted Vasilio to tell him how to take the bus back to Feather and Petal Street. He had something he wanted to buy.


	18. Chapter 18

On Saturday afternoon, Liam followed the sound of blaring guitars and pounding drums to what was more a storage unit than a true garage beneath one of the New Court apartments. He found Taylor, Arthur, Vasilio, Robert, and Rebecca rehearsing a song (with help from Taylor's Exploud), along with Liz, who was humming along, and a few younger students Liam took to be part of Robert's entourage. Apart from the musicians themselves, there was nothing in the Garage other than a ragged sofa, some kick scooters, and a few unused instruments and amplifiers. The garage floor was covered in a dull, stained carpet. Liam settled down on a crate next to Liz and started listening.

Liam quickly decided that although I Am Munchlax were great musicians, Mori's assessment of them was right; to him, they sounded like uninteresting garage rock, occasionally punctuated by Taylor's belted, emo-esque choruses. Rebecca's violin would have made their music more interesting if it wasn't usually drowned out by the competing loudness of Taylor's guitar and Robert's drums, which turned out to be the two sounds that had led Liam there.

An argument between Taylor, Arthur, and Robert about which songs they would play at the lock-in gave Liam a few minutes to talk to Vasilio.

"Is this… typical?" he asked, glancing over at Taylor and Arthur.

"Oh yeah," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes. "You have no idea. We've only got like five songs, but they're always fighting about which ones to play."

Rebecca set down her bow and began strumming out a song on her violin as if it was a ukulele as Liz sang along.

"I was actually mostly stopping by to ask you something," said Liam, "Which bus is it that goes to Feather and Petal again? And which stop is it?"

Vasilio raised his eyebrows.

"Getting adventurous? It's the 104. You can catch it out the back gate on the far side of the street. It's the sixth stop from here, the one with the big metal statue."

Liam nodded, making mental notes. Before Vasilio could say any more, Taylor gave a loud strum which his Exploud amplified into a nearly ear-splitting roar.

"Okay, okay, so, we're gonna do Rough Town," he said. Vasilio picked his bass back up and they started, very inexpertly at first, to play the next song. Liam watched for about another ten minutes, but quietly slipped away and headed for the bus stop out the back gate of New Court.

Liam found the vendor he was looking for on Feather and Petal Street soon enough, and to his relief, the Murkrow with the damage beak was still there. The seller smiled as he recognized Liam.

"Back for Murkrow?" he asked, pleasantly.

"Yes," said Liam. He had come this far, but this was the difficult part. Liam didn't like the push-and-pull of haggling, but he also knew he was going to have to come out with a price the seller wanted to begin with to avoid it.

"I can give you," said Liam, reaching into his wallet, "1,200 pokedollars for the Murkrow without the cage."

The merchant seemed to ponder it for a moment. Liam held his breath.

"1,200," he said, as if to himself, "No cage, only the bird."

Finally, he nodded. Liam excitedly handed over the cash and pulled the unused Pokeball off of his belt. The Murkrow rattled against its cage in agitation. As the man opened the small wooden door, Liam tossed his Pokeball into the cage.

The Murkrow struggled quite a bit before the Pokeball made the click of a successful capture, which made Liam a little nervous. However, his nervousness was easily outweighed by his excitement. He had a Murkrow, a Pokemon he had wanted for years. As he rode the 104 back towards New Court, he held Murkrow's Pokeball delicately in his hands. He decided not to show it to Vasilio until Monday. He wanted to introduce it to his own Pokemon first.

In his room at home, Liam released all four of his Pokemon, holding the jittery Murkrow as he showed it to his Eevee, his Sneasel, and his Kakuna. Eevee seemed a little uncertain about their new friend, who made a lot of sudden movements and squawks. Sneasel seemed to respect Murkrow instantly as a fellow predator, but kept its distance in the same way it did with Liam's other Pokemon. Kakuna could have been delighted or scornful and Liam wouldn't have known the difference, but he chose to interpret the fact that it didn't jab Murkrow with a stinger as a good sign.


	19. Chapter 19

Liam was waiting in line to buy his breakfast from the Dude when he saw Mori get off the bus and head past him towards school. She didn't look at him, or anyone, but that wasn't unusual. Her headphones were a sign she wanted to be left alone with her thoughts and her music. Nonetheless, Liam followed after her as soon as he got his food, hoping to catch a word with her before class started.

He found her in Rollon's literature classroom, headphones off, drawing a menacing Gengar on her forearm with the purple marker.

"Hi, Mori," said Liam, sitting down next to her.

"Oh," she said, looking up at him in surprise, "Hi Liam."

"I'm sorry about Friday," he began, but Mori flicked him.

"You really don't get past things, do you?" she asked, "I've gotta be careful; I didn't realize I had this much power over you."

Liam felt a little annoyed that the note that had tortured him most of the weekend didn't seem to matter to Mori at all.

"I'm trying to be on your side," protested Liam.

"Good," said Mori, "Now practice not letting girls get into your head, okay?"

Liam crossed his arms and looked away sullenly.

"Liam," said Mori, leaning towards him and fixing him with her weirdly entrancing expression, "You're so worried to look out for me, but you won't let me look out for you. I didn't mean for the note I passed you to be read more than once. I was just trying to explain how I felt. I know you're on my side. I just… take things kinda personal sometimes."

Liam nodded, but he was still a little annoyed. Just then, he noticed Vasilio and Stephanie arriving in the classroom.

"Just the two I was looking for," said Vasilio, sitting down on the other side of Mori.

"Should we be worried?" said Mori, looking at Liam, "I think we should be worried."

"I just wanted to make sure we're all set for our trip on Saturday," explained Vasilio. Mori groaned.

"Shoot, I still haven't talked to my parents," said Liam.

"Well, do that today," said Vasilio, "Because you'll need to be all packed and ready to go at lunchtime on Saturday if we're gonna make it to Jadetower City by Lunar New Year."

"Who's coming?" asked Liam, glancing at Stephanie.

"I am," said Stephanie, which made Liam instantly resolve that he was as well, "and so is Ruth. Rain might be coming; she isn't sure."

"I won't be," said Sylvia, taking her usual seat next to Stephanie, "I'm going to see my relatives in Dongzo. Gotta get those red packets."

"What about Jonah?" asked Liam, doing his best not to look at Mori.

"He's going to Alola for break," said Mori casually. Liam didn't have anything against Jonah, but he was secretly pleased by the news.

"So… what, six of us max?" asked Liam.

"Everyone but Sylvia and Jonah, assuming Rain comes," said Vasilio, looking at Rain, who had just stepped through the classroom door.

"My family might be going to Ferrum over break," explained Rain as she sat down next to Liam, "I'll know by Thursday."

"By the way," said Liam, realizing something for the first time, "Aren't we leaving right after the lock-in on Friday? Like, right right after?"

"Sort of," said Vasilio, as Mori held her face in exasperation, "the lock-in stuff is done at like 7:00 AM on Saturday morning, and we're not setting out on Route 3 until 1:00 PM, so I'm gonna get packed ahead of time and get a few hours of sleep before we leave."

"I'm going to do that, and sleep at the lock-in," said Stephanie, who was laying her notebook neatly out on her desk.

Liam looked over at Mori.

"Yeah, like my dad would let me go to a lock-in," mumbled Mori.

"I don't know if I'm gonna go to that lock-in anyways," whispered Liam, as Professor Rollon began writing the agenda for the class on the board, "It sounds like Youth Group but worse."

"You wanna get dinner together on Friday to celebrate the fact that we're not staying up all night like morons?" asked Mori, plopping her notebook roughly on the desk. Liam's heart gave a small flutter.

"Wouldn't that sound too much like a date to your dad?" Liam asked, still whispering.

"Don't worry," said Mori, smiling mischievously, "He knows you're not my type."

"And why is that?" asked Liam, trying to match her tone, but with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Because I have bad taste in boys," said Mori, beginning to write down the notes on the board. Liam sat thoughtfully for a long time before finally taking up his pencil and starting on the class notes.

"Vasilio was right," he thought to himself, "Crushing on Mori hurts."

Jonah turned out to be absent that day, so Mori ate lunch with Vasilio and Liam at the noodle shop just like she had the first week. Liam told them about his evening at the Woven Bowl on Friday as Mori slurped her noodles loudly.

"It felt kinda weird, being with all those older guys," said Liam, "But I got to talk to Cass a bit, and battle her, so that was cool."

"Cass really looks out for everyone," said Vasilio, whacking Mori on the hand with his chopsticks, "Stop that noise, it's gross."

"I'm juff eating," said Mori through a mouth full of noodles, "Besides, Wiam if juff a sucker foh girlf."

She swallowed.

"Anyways, Cass is the vice president, so she has to be nice to him."

"She's what?" asked Liam.

"She's Arthur's second-in-command," said Vasilio, "It's been kinda weird this year with Student Council. It was like all seniors last year, but this year the only senior is Annabelle, and she's just the treasurer. We've got a junior president and a sophomore vice president."

"And she got elected after just one year here," added Mori, "But I guess that's not too weird."

"Sylvia's gonna have that vice presidency next year, I bet," said Liam, glancing over at where the girls from his class (except Mori) were eating lunch together.

"Oh yeah," said Mori, "If she doesn't jump straight to El Presidente. She's a real Machiavellian b-"

Vasilio poked her with his chopsticks.

"...but that's okay because this is just stupid old high school," finished Mori, glowering at Vasilio.

"That save took a little longer than usual," said Liam. Mori rolled her eyes.

"You made it this far," said Vasilio, "You're coming with us on Saturday if I have to tape your mouth shut. Also, since when did you know the word 'Machiavellian?'"

"I'm sometimes awake in Shrike's class," said Mori. Liam snorted.

On their way back to school from lunch, Liam was surprised to hear someone calling his name. Turning, he saw Cass trying to catch up with them in her unsteady hobble.

"Sorry Liam," she said, putting her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, "But I just realized you were one of the people that hadn't turned in a permission slip for the lock-in. So, uh, were you planning on coming?"

"Uh, not really," said Liam, awkwardly, "Too many people, you know? Plus I'm going on a trip with Vasi and Mori and some of the other 9th grade the next day."

"So it's your fault," said Cass to Vasilio, who raised his hands defensively.

"I'm just giving him an excuse," protested Vasilio, "There's no way he'd go anyways. He's not joking when he says he doesn't like people."

"Also he's going to dinner with me because I don't like any of you either," said Mori. Cass looked a little hurt.

"Don't listen to the small gothy one," said Vasilio, giving Mori a flick, "She sometimes just says mean things for no reason."

"You guys are so sensitive," said Mori, looking at Cass with an odd expression Liam thought might have been a little disdainful.

"Well, anyways, I'm sorry you won't be there, Liam," said Cass, bouncing back into her usual friendly attitude at once, "But I get it if it's overwhelming. Anyways, I gotta go find Arthur. I'll see you guys in battle class."

"Maybe she should go look for Liz," muttered Liam. Vasilio snorted.

"By the way," said Liam, suddenly remembering, "I forgot to tell you guys: I went back to that guy at Feather and Petal Street and bought this."

He held up his new Pokeball.

"Oooh," said Mori, "That Murkrow? Do I want to know how much you paid?"

"I mean, I just gave him 1,200…" began Liam, but Vasilio immediately gagged on his Soda Pop.

"You got so taken," said Vasilio, when he finished coughing, "That bird isn't worth more than 600. Please tell me you got the cage, at lease?"

"Oh come on," said Mori, giggling, "Liam's a sucker; there's no way he got the cage."

"I didn't get the cage," confessed Liam, sheepishly.

Mori laughed. Vasilio looked like he wanted to chastise Liam further, but Mori shot a look at him that made it clear that the topic was closed.


	20. Chapter 20

Despite still not being able to beat Rain in battle class, Liam had been closing the gap on her during the last two weeks. His Sneasel had gotten used to dodging Aromatisse's Moonblast attacks. Its Metal Claw still wasn't quite strong enough to deal the knockout blow, but Liam could tell he was keeping Rain on her toes. At the very least, he sensed her frustration at being unable to fully control the flow of battle.

Rain didn't look quite as smug as usual when she recalled her bruised (though not beaten) Aromatisse at the end of their skirmish that afternoon, but this time Liam hardly noticed. His attention had immediately turned to the battle raging on the field next to them between Cass and her partner Rebecca. Cass's Sawk was landing blow after blow on Rebecca's Vibrava, but seemingly with little effect.

"Vibrava, Dragonbreath," shouted Rebecca.

Liam winced for Cass and her Sawk as he saw the static of paralysis rippled across the Pokemon.

"Don't worry, Sawk," said Cass, "We're about to take this battle back. Hit it with Facade!"

Sawk smashed into Vibrava with incredible force, sending the Pokemon flying across the battlefield and into the balcony above. Liam heard the students around him slowly building the same stomp-stomp-clap they had done during his first battle with Cass.

"Cass is a very good trainer," said Rain, who had walked over to Liam as he was watching the match, "She's very close with her Pokemon. I think that helps her a lot."

"Seems like she's pretty good with people too," said Liam. Cass's Sawk had just finished Vibrava with another Facade, and he joined in the clapping as she hobbled across the field to give Rebecca a hug.

"Mmhmm," said Rain, "Things are a little… different in this place. Different people are popular than you would expect. I like it, but it's… unusual."

Liam nodded, but he thought he caught a note of bitterness in Rain's voice. In another school, Rain would be in Cass's position. Rain was very pretty, with what Liam assumed was an excellent sense of fashion. She had an older boyfriend, she wasn't awkward, and she was a hardworking student. But she didn't like people the way Cass or even Sylvia did. And in Everspring, you needed to.

Throughout the week leading up to the Lunar New Year Break, about a third of the student body gradually disappeared from classes and recess. Many were leaving because their parents had conferences, but quite a few were just taking off on vacation early. Liam didn't notice this until Arthur pointed it out when they were lined up to buy their breakfast from the Dude on Friday morning.

"Line's a lot shorter now," said Arthur, "I'm starting to think doing the Lock-In this weekend wasn't the right call. Seems like half the school has already left for break."

"Most of our class is still here," said Vasilio, "But we seem to be the exception."

Liam felt like the teachers should have rewarded the students that hadn't left early, but instead they seemed committed to business as usual. That meant a quiz in Rollon's literature class, tests in Wort and Werner's classes, and even a practical in Huang's Breeding & Care class, where Liam and the others had to massage the pressure points on the gate guard's Mightyena. The black-furred Pokemon seemed to enjoy the experience much more than its nervous masseurs.

Liam and Mori were some of the only students at the bus stop at the end of the day; everyone else had stayed behind for the Lock-In. She had reminded him during lunch of what she called his "promise" to come with her to dinner that night, not that he needed much persuasion. Supposedly, they were out collecting some of the things from the very long packing list Vasilio had passed to them that morning. In reality, Liam was mainly interested in spending one-on-one time with Mori, while she seemed to see the arrangement mainly as an excuse to be out of the house on a night without Youth Group.

They didn't say much to each other on the bus ride back to New Court and White Gardens. This wasn't unusual: they both preferred music to conversation, especially after a long day. As Mori got up to get off at the New Court stop, she told Liam to meet her at the New Court fountain at 5:00. Liam barely had time to shower, change, and fret over his unruly hair before he was racing back to New Court. He made it two minutes before the appointed time; Mori arrived five minutes late.

"Let's go," she said. Mori had changed out of her more restrained school clothes into what Liam remarked was a more "gothed-up" look, with heavy makeup and a Cradle of Muk shirt she definitely wouldn't have been allowed to wear at school.

"I had to do half of this in the apartment stairs," she confessed, "My dad doesn't even know I have this shirt."

Unlike their trip to Feather and Petal Street two weeks ago, Mori flagged down a taxi outside of New Court and almost pushed Liam in.

"So, where are we going?" Liam asked.

Mori didn't reply. Liam recognized that she had sunk into one of her dour moods. Liam had gotten used to this over the past few weeks, even if it had surprised him when he first witnessed it at the new semester assembly. Mori just didn't talk sometimes. Liam wasn't sure if she was thinking or just shutting everyone out, but he learned quickly that the moods passed as soon as they came, and decided to wait it out.

Their taxi arrived at the opening of a small walking street, wider and more modern than Feather and Petal Street. Mori paid the taxi driver and began leading Liam past small restaurants, stores, and coffee shops that were different from what he had seen in Nanzo so far.

"What is this place?" asked Liam.

"It's Bookwood Street," said Mori, "It's near the university, so it's got lots of Western restaurants and stores. This is where we're going."

She pointed to compact, two-story restaurant with a sort of patio bar out front. The sign above the door read "Santiago's Coffee House." Inside, Liam could see small, low tables, warm lighting, and what looked like a wooden loft above.

"This is the best restaurant on the street," she said, as they ducked through the small door.

The local staff seemed to recognize Mori, and she led Liam past the tables on the first floor and up a narrow wooden staircase to the loft above. Liam ducked slightly to avoid the exposed piping on the ceiling as Mori led him to a small corner table next to a bookshelf.

A Noctowl fluttered over and dropped off their menus. Mori didn't give much guidance about what was worth eating, but the menu seemed to offer just about everything. By the time a waitress had come from downstairs, Liam had decided that a bacon burger was probably a safe option. Mori, by contrast, ordered french toast, a milkshake, french fries, and a drink Liam thought was probably alcoholic. Liam decided to maintain plausible deniability by not asking.

"You eat a lot," said Liam as the waitress went back downstairs. Mori laughed.

"Usually not the sort of thing you say to a girl," she said, "But I'll probably have some extra if you want it."

She took a Pokeball out of her jacket and released her Misdreavus, which started to hover above them.

"They don't mind if you take your Pokemon out here," said Mori, taking out another Pokeball and sending out her Nincada onto the table. Liam hastily followed, taking out his Eevee and his Sneasel. The former curled up in his lap; the latter climbed onto his shoulder as usual and looked suspiciously around the unfamiliar restaurant.

"Oooh, can I hold your Eevee?" asked Mori. Liam nodded, and gently passed the soft, furry Pokemon from his lap into Mori's arms.

"So cute," she said, stroked its head, "And it's wearing my Soothe Bell. You'll be an Umbreon in no time."

Eevee purred contentedly. Liam watched Mori and his Eevee in silence as Mori's Nincada chittered and scurried around on the table.

"What is this place, anyways?" asked Liam at last.

"Lots of people from the university hang out here," explain Mori, scratching Eevee behind the ear, "And especially foreigners. It's the best place to get foreign food. And there's lots of other cool stuff on Bookwood Street. Did you see that shop we passed with all the T-Shirts? That's where I got this."

She pointed to the Cradle of Muk shirt she was wearing.

"There's also a skating shop, and bookstore around the corner," she continued, "But I like to come here most of all. It's quiet, and they have lots of books, and the ice cream is amazing."

She closed her eyes for a moment, as if meditating on the warm, cozy atmosphere.

"Missy likes it here too," she added. Liam looked up at her Pokemon, which was drifting above them in the same contented attitude as Mori.

"There's also another place I want to show you," she said, "But we'll wait until after the food."

The food turned out to be fantastic. Liam not only very much enjoyed his burger, but he also got to help himself to the feast that Mori had ordered for herself (except the milkshake, which she guarded aggressively). Mori kept on feeding Liam's Eevee bits of her french fries and french toast, while her own Nincada stared unblinkingly at Liam's burger with its weird black eyes.

"Is it hungry?" asked Liam, cautiously lifting his burger to his mouth.

"Oh, ignore Nin," said Mori, taking a long sip from her milkshake, "He's not actually looking at you. Nincadas are blind. He just can just tell you're there, and he's curious about what you're eating."

Liam had thought dinner with Mori would be a good time to learn a little more about her, but he hasn't really sure how to broach the subject. Mori liked to drop a lot of hints about her life—that she was adopted, that her she wasn't happy with her adopted family, that she made poor relationship choices—but she rarely elaborated, and even seemed to shut down when Liam pressed her. He decided, however, to give it a go.

"Can I asked you something?" Liam began.

"Sure, I guess," said Mori, trying to tempt his Eevee into a sip of her milkshake.

Liam hesitated.

"You said you go by Mori because it will be easier for someone to find you if they came looking for you," said Liam, abruptly, "What did you mean by that?"

Mori set down her milkshake and fixed Liam with her familiar, intense gaze.

"So you know I'm adopted, right?" said Mori, "Well, the people at the orphanage in Hoenn told my parents that I had a younger sister, too, but she had already been adopted. I don't really remember her at all, but if she's out there, I want her to be able to find me some day, and she probably won't be looking for Grace Shaw."

"How old were you when you were adopted?" asked Liam.

"I was three," said Mori, "I don't really remember anything from Hoenn. Like, at all. We lived in Alola when I was little, before we moved here."

"What's Alola like? I've never been there."

"Hot," said Mori, "And lonely. I like it here better. Also everyone is really friendly in Alola. I don't like it. People leave you alone here."

"Lonely, and friendly?" repeated Liam, with a slight smirk.

"I didn't have a lot of friends in Alola, okay?" said Mori, rolling her eyes, "Jeez, I really have to spell out everything with you, don't I?"

"Sorry," said Liam, pushing his hair out of his face as an excuse to break eye contact with Mori.

"I don't see you interrogating Vasi like this," said Mori, with small roll of her eyes.

"Well, he's not…" Liam began, but Mori interrupted him.

"Not someone you feel like you need to save?"

"No," protested Liam, "He's not… I don't know, mysterious?"

"Ooh," said Mori, raising an eyebrow, "So I'm mysterious? I like that. But you won't make me spill my secrets that way. A girl can't be mysterious if she tells boys everything."

"I guess not," said Liam. Mori took another long sip of her milkshake. In her lap, Liam's Eevee had started to snore.

"Seriously, keep an eye on me or I'm gonna keep your Eevee," whispered Mori, "Also, I think it's my turn to interrogate you. Got any dark secrets?"

"I don't think so," replied Liam, "I mean, I'm not the best Pokemon trainer, but that's hardly a secret, I think."

"No tragic backstory?" pressed Mori, leaning forward. Liam started to tremble a little.

"Just typical TCK issues," said Liam, "I've seen a lot of best friends leave. I left a lot of friends behind in Johto, but I'm too lazy to keep up with them. No childhood trauma, no nasty break ups, no evil ex-girlfriends…"

"Just crushes on unattainable girls?" asked Mori, with a glint in her eye.

"Well, from my perspective all girls are equally unattainable," said Liam. Mori laughed.

"You're a dork," she said, "And teenage boys always crush on girls they can't have. You and Vasi are both that way."

"Guess we can't tell the difference between attainable and unattainable girls," said Liam, but Mori shook her head.

"No, that's not it," she insisted, "You're just looking for an excuse to play the waiting game and hoping the girl you like will magically announce that she likes you even though you're too afraid to ask her. If you thought you actually had a chance, then you'd have to ask her."

"Why should I take relationship advice from someone who told me she has bad taste in boys?" retorted Liam.

"Because even my bad taste leads to more makeout sessions than your unrealistic taste," said Mori. Liam nearly choked on his water.

"I mean, not that I'm not looking for that," said Liam, his face turning a little red, "But I'm also looking for a little more than that."

"Look," said Mori, again fixing Liam with her intense gaze, "You're not gonna find anything in a relationship that you didn't have already. So if you want a girl that will listen to your problems and hug you when you're sad, then try making friends before you look for girlfriends. As for me, that's not something I'm looking for."

"Is Jonah not a good listener?" said Liam, trying not to grin.

"Jonah's good at a lot of things," said Mori simply, Liam raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean it like that," she added quickly, "You and Vasi really don't like that I'm dating Jonah, do you?"

Liam shrugged.

"He's actually really nice, you know," said Mori, "He's got a really serious, caring side you don't really see when he's around other people."

"What do you guys talk about when you're, uh, alone?" asked Liam.

"Gotta keep some mysteries for myself," said Mori, "Anyways, I'm full. I wanna show you the place I mentioned earlier."

Mori passed Eevee gingerly back to Liam before recalling her Misdreavus, which was still hovering over them, and her Nincada, which seemed to be asleep with its eyes still staring at Liam. Sneasel had wandered over to the railing of the loft, where it was staring down at the diners below with a predatory glint in its eyes.

"Come on, you," said Liam, offering an arm so it could crawl back on its shoulder, "Mori's gonna show us something."


	21. Chapter 21

Mori led Liam past more foreign restaurants and around a corner to what looked like a typical Nanzo sidestreet that intersected with the Bookwood walking street. There was no one to be seen apart from an old local man sitting against a wall playing an erhu. A grumpy-looking Snubbull sat next to him, guarding the cap where he kept his tips. Mori stopped for a few moments to listen to the man with her eyes closed, then gave him a small tip. Liam barely managed to tip the man as well before Mori was dragging him further down the street again. She paused in front of a faded mural of a Trevenant painted on a concrete wall and turned to face Liam.

"Back in Johto," she said, seriously, "Did you have any badges?"

"No," said Liam, a little confused, "No, I've never challenged a gym before."

Mori paused to think for a moment, then pointed Liam to a small, dingy entrance next to the mural he hadn't even noticed.

"This is the place," she said, simply.

As he and Mori approached the small door, the first thing Liam noticed was the noise. Some sort of pounding industrial music was playing inside, muffled by the wooden door. Liam almost expected to step into a club; what he found instead was a huge music store, with tall wooden shelves filled with foreign CDs reaching to the ceiling. The industrial music seemed to be coming from somewhere deep in the maze of shelves Liam couldn't see. A woman behind a small, wooden desk waved at Mori as she caught sight of her. Mori waved shyly back.

Liam instantly understood why Mori had brought him; this looked like a wonderful place. Mori caught the look in his eye at once.

"This place is great, isn't it?" she said, "It's got the best CDs of anywhere in the city. Let me show you my favorite shelf."

Mori guided Liam through the maze of high shelves to a corner lined with heavy metal CDs of every style and genre. Without a word, she put on her headphones and began browsing silently through the shelves. Liam did the same, being careful not to nudge Sneasel off his shoulder as he began flipping through the CDs.

It was a weirdly calming experience, For about twenty minutes, they looked at CDs, almost ignoring each other as they gazed at weird album art and found albums they had never heard of by bands they loved. They seemed to have the store themselves, apart from one or two silent college students, but the solitude only added to the library-ish atmosphere—if libraries played muffled industrial music in the background. Liam felt he could have dug through the different albums forever, but Mori's nudge told him she was done.

As they wandered back through the maze of shelves towards the woman in the front, they passed a shelf Liam hadn't noticed on the way in.

"Wait a sec," said Liam, looking at the shelf in surprise, "Are those Technical Machines?"

"Oh yeah," said Mori, "They sell TMs here. They're basically CDs, after all. You can look at them if you want. I'm gonna go buy these."

She held up the three CDs she had picked.

"Then there's something else I wanna show you."

Looking at the TMs wasn't anywhere near as relaxing as looking at the CDs with the pressure of Mori waiting for him in the front of the store, but Liam knew what he wanted. Within a few seconds, he had spotted a purple disk in a clear, plastic case with TM06 stamped on the front in black. He grabbed the TM off the shelf and rushed to the front of the store, where he found Mori with her CDs already in a plastic bag.

"How much do CDs cost here, anyways?" asked Liam nervously, as he handed his three CDs and TM06 to the woman at the wooden desk.

"They're just 150 Pokedollars," said Mori, "I don't know about that TM. I've never bought one before."

The woman at the desk pulled out a calculator performed some simple math before holding it up to Liam.

"Oh, 800," said Liam, "That's not bad at all. TMs are way more expensive back in Johto."

"Welcome to Nanzo," said Mori, "Everything's cheap here. Now follow me, there's one more thing I wanna show you."

To Liam's surprise, Mori led him back into the maze of shelves. After winding even further into the depths of the store than before, they emerged in front of another door; this one large and metal, with a mural like the one outside. Mori stopped and turned to Liam, fixing him with her intense gaze.

"You said you don't have a badge," she said. Liam nodded.

"Do you want one?"

"What do you mean?" asked Liam, very confused.

Without answering, Mori pushed open the heavy metal door. The sound of the pounding industrial music became instantly louder, and as Liam followed Mori through the door, he found himself in what looked like a dance club. Bright, multicolored lights pulsed in time with the music, illuminating a large dance floor and walls spray-painted with murals of Ghost-type Pokemon in the same style as a the mural on the door and outside the store. On the far side of the room, a group of musicians stood on platform above the dancers. Liam had thought Mori looked gothed-up that evening, but she was nothing to the performers on the platform, whose pitch-black clothes contrasted sharply with their neon hair and bone-white faces. It was this group that had been playing the music Liam had heard in the CD store.

Taking Liam by the wrist, Mori pushed her way across the dancefloor towards the platform. Liam tried to protest, but Mori either didn't care or couldn't hear him over the loud music. As she reached the platform, she called up as loudly as she could.

"Tobias! I have someone who wants to see you!"

A man with long white hair that had been facing away from the dancers, playing an enormous electronic keyboard, stood up slowly and turned around.

"Hanako," he said, in an elegant but heavy accent, "Welcome. Who is it that you bring to me?"

"This is Liam!" shouted Mori, "He's a new kid at my school. He wants to challenge your gym!"

Tobias pushed his long, white hair out of his face, which was weirdly pale and argular. He wore a dark velvet suit over his almost skeletal frame. His movements were strangely slow, almost melodramatic. With a catlike elegance, he leapt down from the platform and landed in front of Liam and Mori.

"I am Tobias," said the gym leader, offering Liam a thin, pale, long-fingered hand, "Master of the morbid, and the evanescent. Nanzo is a ghost-haunted land, full of restless spirits, and forgotten secrets. Do you wish to face the terror and mystery known only to the dead?"

Liam did his best to keep a straight face as he shook the gym leader's hand, but Tobias' theatrical manner and bizarre accent almost made him laugh.

"Yes," he said, trying to keep composure, "I mean, if you're asking if I want to battle you, the answer is yes."

Tobias held up one of his left hand. Instantly, the music stopped, and the dancers began to clear the floor, revealing it to be a Pokemon League-official arena with almost calligraphic white lines over a reflective purple surface marking out the field.

"We will use two Pokemon each," said Tobias, as Liam and Mori walked to the far end of the field of battle.

"I didn't realize I was gonna fight a gym leader tonight," whispered Liam to Mori with some annoyance.

"I know you," said Mori, "You would have never said yes if I had asked."

That was true enough, but Liam didn't think it was much of a point.

On the far side of the field, Tobias took a Dusk Ball out of his dark suit and fixed Liam in a weirdly unblinking stare. Above him, the band had started again, playing a menacing darkwave song Liam guessed served as Tobias' theme music.

"I will begin with Banette!" said Tobias, tossing his Dusk Ball is a dramatic flourish.

"Sneasel, go!"

The Sneasel on his shoulder lept into battle, eager to face its opponent.

"Banette," said Tobias, "Use Will-O-Wisp."

Liam didn't even have to shout. Sneasel had dodged the move effortlessly, rolling to the side as the purple flames swept past it. Clearly, Sneasel wanted this badge even more than Liam did. It remained crouched, ready to spring at Liam's command.

"Faint Attack!"

Sneasel's attack looked more like a shadowy blur as it struck Banette savagely in the head. The Ghost Pokemon reeled slightly, but looked ready to continue.

"Now, we can't have that," said Tobias, "Banette, use Spite."

Banette gave Liam's Sneasel an evil look as a wave of glowing purplish energy swept over it. Sneasel shuddered.

"That won't save you," muttered Liam, "Sneasel, Faint Attack again!"

Sneasel shrouded itself in shadow and slashed at Banette again, this time striking its puppet-like body. The Banette clearly wouldn't survive another direct hit, but Tobias looked ominously unconcerned.

"The dead," he said, in his bizarre accent, "have no fear. Banette, use Curse!"

With a grinning expression that made Liam's skin crawl, Banette drove a long, sharp needed into its own head. With each jab, Tobias' band playing above them let out a discordant, distorted wail. As the needle disappeared into thin air and the fainted Banette floated down to the floor, Sneasel gave a sudden yelp of pain. The music had crescendoed, then subsided into a low, ominous drone

Tobias pulled another black Dusk Ball out of his coat with an evil expression on his face. Liam was beginning to wonder how much of Tobias' persona was theatrical and how much was genuine malice.

"Go," he said, staring at Liam with his unblinking eyes, "Aegislash."

"Crap," mumbled Liam. He paused for a moment.

"Sneasel," he said, "Faint Attack!"

Liam was painfully aware of the situation he was in. Despite his type advantage, his Pokemon was Cursed, and Sneasel's movepool locked him in to using a single move over and over again; an easy situation for Tobias to exploit.

Sneasel managed to land a powerful hit on Aegislash in its vulnerable attack form, but gave another yelp as the Curse sapped away more of its life. Above them, Tobias' band began to add pounding electronic drums back into their sound.

"All things must come to an end," said Tobias, "Aegislash, Sacred Sword."

Liam closed his eyes and covered his face. The attack came down with such force that Sneasel was knocked into the air and sent flying into one of the muraled walls. Liam hastily recalled his fainted Pokemon before it could tumble to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Now what?

Liam hadn't come in with a plan, but he had quickly developed the idea of sweeping Tobias' Ghost-type team with Sneasel. Clearly, that was no longer an option.

"Eevee couldn't stand one hit from that Sacred Sword," Liam mumbled, "Kakuna couldn't even scratch that Aegislash."

He felt Mori nudging him.

"Send out your Murkrow, you idiot," she mumbled, "Isn't that thing an even higher level than your Sneasel?"

"Right," said Liam, "Okay. Murkrow, I choose you."

The bird Pokemon sprung out of its Pokeball with a loud caw. Tobias looked at it curiously.

"What a delightfully wicked bird," he said. Liam frowned.

"Murkrow, use Night Shade!"

Murkrow swooped over Aegislash, casting a dark, ominous shadow below it as it flew. Aegislash trembled slightly.

"Aegislash," said Tobias, "Let's end this quickly. Use Swords Dance."

The Pokemon gave a refined twirl as its blade glittered sharly.

"Murkrow, hit that Aegislash with Assurance!"

As Murkrow dived as Aegislash, a smile curled suddenly on Tobias' pale face.

"King's Shield!"

Aegislash instantly switched from its aggressive to its defensive stance as Murkrow's attack glanced harmless off its round shield.

"Murkrow," shouted Liam, "Let's show him we're not playing this game. Taunt!"

Tobias' eyes widened at Murkrow squawked annoyingly at Aegislash.

"No matter," hissed Tobias, obviously annoyed, "We'll crush this bird with brute force. Aegislash, Sacred Sword!"

Aegislash switched back into attack stance and brought its body crashing down on Murkrow. The bird appeared shaken, but not seriously injured. Despite himself, Liam felt a smile creeping across his face.

"Alright, Murkrow," said Liam, "Let's show them just what a wicked bird you are. Use Foul Play!"

Murkrow soared into the air before diving down at Aegislash like a bolt of pure shadow. Liam knew that the battle was over as soon as he heard the crash of Aegislash's metal body clanging against floor. Murkrow swooped back to Liam, cawing with pleasure. Tobias blinked. He looked ruffled, but quickly regained his composure, recalling his Pokemon and beckoning Liam back in the direction of the platform. As Liam and Mori crossed the dance floor, the band above them transitioned smoothly into a more upbeat industrial song, and the dancers crowded back in around them.

"Your Murkrow deceived me," said Tobias, "Wherever did you get it?"

"I didn't catch it, really," confessed Liam, "I bought it from a guy at Feather and Petal Street about a week ago. I think he's the one that taught it Foul Play."

"Foul Play and Taunt is a deadly combination against an Aegislash," said Tobias, "To turn death against itself… Clever indeed."

Tobias reached into his coat and pulled out a glossy white badge shaped like an ancient stele.

"This is the Remembrance Badge," said Tobias, "The dead alone remember all, but the living alone can remember new things. Take it as a memorial of our battle together. Also…"

He raised a hand. One of his bandmates from above passed down an orange TM in an ornate black case.

"This is TM61," explained Tobias, handing it to Liam, "It contains Will-O-Wisp. Some ghosts wander the earth as vengeful specters; others lead travelers astray as burning flames in the night. Use the fire of the dead to inflict your own vengeance upon the living."

Liam thanked Tobias, who gave a theatrical bow before climbing, still catlike, back up onto the platform and resuming his place at the keyboard.

Outside of the CD store, Liam held his badge up in the moonlight. He and Mori were alone in the street, except for the very faint sound of Tobias' band still coming through the door. Liam felt a weird sense of elation, but he also felt strange, as if it hadn't really been him that had won the badge in his hand.

"Well, now you've got a badge," said Mori, "Tobias went a lot harder on you than he did on me, too."

"Oh, so you've got one too?" asked Liam, turning his gaze away from his new badge to look at his friend.

She pulled open her jacket to reveal a Remembrance Badge pinned on the inside.

"It's the only one I have," said Mori, quickly closing and zipping up her jacket, "Vasi dragged me out here to get it back in December. I came here all the time anyways, so I figured…"

She trailed off. They walked together in silence until they were back on Bookwood Street, which was still bustling with people.

"We should probably head home," said Mori, as she stopped to look longingly at Santiago's.

"Yeah," said Liam, "Hey, Mori?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for everything. You're a really good friend."

Mori laughed.

"You have very low standards," she said, "But I'm glad we did this. Beats staying up all night playing stupid games Sylvia came up with."

Liam nodded. He didn't tell Mori, but he thought it beat just about everything he could imagine doing on a Friday night.


	22. Chapter 22

Liam scrambled to find the things on Vasilio's very long packing list the next morning. Some of the items were easy enough: potions, Pokeballs, and elixirs he could find at the PokeMart around the corner, and he already had a flashlight and sleeping bag. But others were a challenge: he couldn't find rope anywhere in the house, and all the water bottles of any useful size seemed to have disappeared as soon as he tried to look for them. He ended up borrowing his dad's fancy thermos, and deciding that he could make do without the rope. By noon, he had stuffed everything he thought he needed into his backpack, eaten a hasty lunch, waved goodbye to his parents and the family Furfrou, and started for New Court.

Liam found Vasilio, Rain, Ruth, and Stephanie at the New Court fountain looking more than a little exhausted. Ruth had fallen asleep with her head on Stephanie's shoulder, while Rain kept on rubbing her eyes and yawning. Vasilio seemed determined not to let on that he was tired, no matter how obvious it was. He sat stiffly upright on the fountain ledge, blinking as little as possible and stifling every yawn. Nonetheless, Liam was certain he had dozed off sitting up at least once while they waited for Mori to arrive.

Mori finally showed up wearing a similar outfit to the one she had worn last night, although Liam suspected that her look this morning was more calculated to shock Rain than anything else. She looked at her tired classmates with a sort of superior smirk on her face.

"You guys tired?" she asked.

"Shut up," said Stephanie. Ruth jerked suddenly awake with a small squeak,

They took the mostly-empty Bus 19 from New Court to the southeastern outskirts of Everspring City. After about a dozen stops, the tall apartments of the city were in the distance, and the bus was crawling along a wide, mostly-deserted highway on the banks of a huge blueish-green lake. The midday sun sparkled on the rippled waves as flocks of Wingull circled above.

"What's that lake we're passing?" Liam asked Vasilio.

"That's South Cloud Lake," said Vasilio, shaking himself slightly, "Enjoy the view, because you don't want to go anywhere near that water."

"Why?" said Liam.

"It's toxic," explained Stephanie, "They poured waste and chemicals into it for years. It used to be a habitat for dozens of species of rare Pokemon. Now, there's nothing but Grimer, Muk, and Feebas, and only the Feebas are native. The Grimer and Muk are an invasive Alolan variety."

"Gross," said Liam.

"You'll get to experience the smell in a second," said Vasilio, "Next stop is ours."

The bus pulled into the last solitary station and their group disembarked. Stephanie had to shake Ruth awake again, and she just barely managed to scurry off the bus before the doors closed and it turned around to head back into the city. In front of them, the paved road changed suddenly into a dirt path following the bank of South Cloud Lake southward. Liam immediately noticed the smell Vasilio had warned him about.

"Let's get going," said Rain, "The lake smells awful."

Apart from the smell, Liam thought it was a perfect afternoon. The bright sunlight mostly cancelled out the chilly January wind that blew through bare trees that lined the lakeshore. To his left, Liam saw nothing but farmland—mostly rice fields and simple, concrete houses. Apart from the distant cry of the Wingull and the lapping of waves, it was quiet—far more quiet than in the city. Their group walked in silence at first, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and late winter weather. Mori and Liam walked together, smirking to each other about their tired classmates' yawns and blinks. After about a quarter of an hour, they halted by a trainer tips sign and Vasilio, Stephanie, and Rain consulted a map.

"There's a Pokemon Center about halfway between Everspring and Jadetower," said Vasilio, "But we can't make it that far today. We're gonna camp in Prosperity Town tonight and try and get to the Pokemon Center tomorrow."

"Oooh, sweet," said Mori, standing on tiptoe to look at the map over Stephanie's shoulder.

"What's Prosperity Town?" asked Liam.

"It's a ghost town," said Rain, "It's full of empty apartment buildings nobody moved into."

"It's a safe enough place to stay the night," said Stephanie, "But we'll have to leave early in the morning tomorrow."

"What Pokemon are on Route 3?" asked Ruth, standing on tiptoe at Stephanie's other shoulding with even less success than Mori.

"Mostly Weedle, Rattata, Seedot, and Burmy on this stretch," said Stephanie, "That is, if you don't want to go near the lake."

Ruth shook her head vigorously.

"It would be interesting to see the way Feebas has adapted to the pollution," Stephanie continued.

"Not interesting enough," said Rain.

As the sun started to sink lower in the sky, their group passed more trainers on the road. Most of them were locals of about their own age, and a few even wore uniforms showing them to be members of Team Truth, Team Balance, or Team Virtue. Liam's classmates, however, looked too tired to pick a fight, and mostly concentrated on staying on their feet. Liam kept his eyes open for Pokemon, but mostly saw a few Weedle and Rattatas scurrying in the low bushes along the path. He once caught a glimpse of something he was sure was a Seedot, but it disappeared before he had the chance to catch it.

At around 5:00, Liam noticed that the tall, gray apartments to the south were getting closer, and the number of trainers on the road was decreasing. The Wingull circling overhead were gradually replaced by Zubat, and the sun started to set.

"I hope that's Prosperity Town up ahead," muttered Liam.

"That's it," said Rain. Her breathing was heavier than usual after hours of walking, and she had pulled her auburn hair back into a ponytail.

"I'm so hungry," mumbled Ruth, who was trudging along with her eyes down.

"I think it's less than an hour more," said Vasilio, shading his eyes.

"Sounds like an hour too long," retorted Mori.

They entered the shadows of Prosperity Town's towering apartments as the sun went down. It was an eerie sight; thousands of empty windows looked down on them as they walked through the pristine streets. They seemed to be the only living things anywhere in town. Not even Rattatas or Zubat had moved in to the deserted structures.

"This is creepy," said Rain.

Mori looked very pleased.

Vasilio managed to find an apartment building that was unlocked. Using their flashlights, they found their way up to an open, bare apartment on the third floor. It had no doors or windows put in, but it faced away from the wind. Stephanie and Vasilio started to work on a small fire, while Mori sat in one of the open windows with her headphones on. Rain and Ruth started setting up one of the empty bedrooms as the girls' room, while Liam took his backpack and Vasilio's and began laying out their sleeping bags.

Stephanie made them a surprisingly sophisticated dinner on the small fire, with soup and bread and even a side salad. Their group sat around the warmth in the center of the empty apartment and enjoyed the meal, with the exception of Mori, who remained in the open window, nibbling her bread and ignoring her salad and soup. They all took out a few Pokemon, and before Liam knew it the empty concrete shell was as full of life as a vibrant house party.

Liam's Sneasel didn't usually like to socialize, even with other Pokemon, but it seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Stephanie's Lucario, which Liam imagined somehow gave him a chance of getting close to Stephanie herself. Mori quickly scooped up his Eevee and before long it was snoozing in her lap as she stroked its fur. Ruth's Spinda staggered and flopped around the apartment, bumping into people and Pokemon alike. Along with his Amaura, Vasilio brought out a Pokemon Liam had never seen him use before.

"You have a Smoochum?" asked Liam, looking at the Pokemon with one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, running his fingers through his white hair in agitation, "Why?"

"I've just… never seen it before," said Liam, trying to suppress a grin.

"Sylvia gave it to me, okay," said Vasilio in a whisper.

"Ah," said Liam, knowingly.

"I don't really… use it to battle," continued Vasilio, "It's more of a pet, I guess."

"Reminds you of her?" whispered Liam. Vasilio gave him a flick.

"Hey Liam," said Rain, who was brushing her Aromatisse, "Is that a badge?"

"Huh?" said Liam. He looked down and noticed that the badge on the inside of his jacket was just barely visible as he sat with his arms draped over his knees.

"Yeah," he said, "It's a badge. I just got it last night."

"Is it Tobias' badge?" asked Rain. Liam took it off and handed it to her.

"Cool," said Rain, handing it back to him, "I've got one too. That's your first badge in Nanzo, right?"

"Yeah," said Liam.

"Hopefully not his last," said Vasilio, nudging Liam with his elbow.

"Hey, I'm not Mori," said Liam, "You don't have to drag me into badges."

"Totally not true," said Mori, who had finally taken her headphones off, "I definitely dragged him into that badge."

"How many badges do you have?" Liam asked Rain. She reached into her bag and pulled out a case with two shiny badges inside. One was the Remembrance Badge; the other was a gray badge that looked like a standing stone.

"What's the other badge?" asked Liam.

"That's the Limestone Badge," said Rain, "It's from the gym at the Karst Forest outside Everspring."

"Do you all have two badges?" said Liam, looking around at his classmates.

They all nodded except for Mori, who Liam knew only had one, and Ruth, who shook her head vigorously.

"Three," she said, holding up three fingers.

"Wow," said Liam, "What's the third badge, I mean besides the Remembrance badge and the Limestone badge?"

Ruth shook her head again.

"Ruth won't go near Tobias' gym," laughed Stephanie, "but she started getting badges back in seventh grade, so she's ahead of all of us even without the badge."

"Why not?" asked Liam.

"He's scary,," said Ruth, simply. Liam laughed.

"He's weird," said Liam, "But I didn't think he was scary."

"He's very eccentric," said Stephanie, "But I agree with Liam. I think it's all an act, just to scare people that challenge the gym."

Liam noticed that Mori looked a little annoyed.

"He was hard, though," said Liam, "His Aegislash completely clobbered my Sneasel. If I hadn't had Murkrow, I would have been totally destroyed."

"I didn't know you had a Murkrow," said Stephanie. Liam blushed a little as she looked at him curiously.

"I just got it recently," said Liam, "At Feather and Petal."

"Can I see it?" asked Stephanie.  
"Uh, sure," stammered Liam, and he handed Stephanie the Pokeball with Murkrow inside. He immediately realized it would have been easier to release Murkrow himself, but it was already too late. Stephanie pointed the Pokeball at an open spot on the apartment floor.

"Go, Murkrow," she said confidently.

The bird Pokemon gave a small squawk as it emerged from its Pokeball and looked around in confusion at its surroundings. Stephanie looked at it with keen interest.

"What happened to its beak?" she asked, "That wasn't from the fight, was it?"

"Oh, no," said Liam, quickly, "It already had that gash when I bought it. I don't know how it happened."

Stephanie examined the Murkrow carefully. To Liam's surprise, Murkrow seemed unperturbed, and cooperated as Stephanie turned its head to examine its beak closely from different angles.

"I would say someone caught this Pokemon in an illegal way," she said, finally, "Probably with a trap instead of a Pokeball. Was it in a cage when you bought it?"

Liam nodded. He started to wonder whether he had done something wrong by buying the Pokemon.

"Well, it's good that it's in a Pokeball now and has a trainer to take care of it," said Stephanie, turning her eyes back on Liam, "But you should show it to Professor Huang when we get back. She knows a lot about Pokemon medicine."

"So do you," said Liam.

Mori gave a cough Liam took to mean, "Ease off," but Stephanie laughed.

"Not enough," she said, "but I'm always trying to learn more."

By 9 o'clock, Ruth had fallen asleep on Stephanie's shoulder again, and even Mori was starting to look weary. They agreed to head to bed and get an early start the next morning. As Liam settled into his very uncomfortable sleeping bag, he thought about the beautiful girl from Kalos sleeping in the other bedroom. He was glad they were traveling together. He just wished she saw something, anything to admire in him. Because he saw a lot to admire in her.


	23. Chapter 23

After listening to the tinny sound coming from Vasilio's earbuds and the distant snores of Ruth for about an hour, Liam had finally dozed off. He was tired, but the rush of being with his friends and the discomfort of trying to sleep on a bare concrete floor had kept him awake. He was just settling into a very odd dream about Ruth and Vasilio's Amaura announcing their engagement when he was shaken awake by a hand on his shoulder.

"Liam. Liam, wake up."

Liam sat up and looked around blearily. The fire had died, but the moonlight coming in from outside illuminated the silhouette of Mori bending over him. When he finally remembered where he was and why he was there, he tried to bring Mori's face into focus and actually understand what she was trying to tell him.

"Can you hear it?" she was saying. Liam thought she sounded scared.

"Hear what?" he asked, but Mori put her hand over his mouth and looked up at the ceiling. For a while. Liam didn't hear anything. Then, suddenly, his ears caught the sound.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

Liam felt his skin begin to crawl. His heart pounding, he searched his mind for some explanation for the sound he heard in the room above. It was heavy and muffled, almost like a sack of flour being pounded against the floor, but it was also moving. Liam looked at Mori to show that he could hear it too.

"What is it?" he mouthed at her. She shook her head furiously to show she didn't know. Liam was worried she was about to panic.

"Let's wake up Vasi," he whispered. Mori seemed unable to do anything other than tremble. Liam reached over to Vasilio and began to pat his shoulder. Vasilio rolled over with an annoyed look on his face, but sat up immediately when he saw Mori.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Liam put a finger across his lips and pointed up at the ceiling. The thumping sound seemed to be crossing the room above, almost like it was pacing. Vasilio took out his earbuds.

"Sounds like a Pokemon," he said in a low voice.

"What Pokemon?" asked Liam. Mori was now clutching at his arm to try and steady herself.

"I have no idea," said Vasilio, reaching for his own Pokeballs in the dark, "Crap, I hope it's a Pokemon."

"Are the other girls awake?" Liam asked Mori. She shook her head.

"I'll get them," said Vasilio. He crept quietly out of the room.

Liam and Mori sat in silence for a moment. The thumping above seemed to have stopped, but that seemed to make Mori even more nervous. She was taking long, deep breaths to try and steady herself.

Just when Liam started to think the entire thing ,might have been his tired imagination, he heard the thumping sound again. But this time, it wasn't in the floor above.

"Oh my god," hissed Mori, "Oh my god, oh my god, Liam, it's on our floor!"

Liam heard it too. The thumping sound, though further away, was now unmistakably on the same floor as they were, making its way through a distant room or hallway. Liam did his best not to panic, but he was sure he was just as scared as Mori. Maybe even more scared.

Vasilio ducked back into the room, accompanied by Rain, who was wearing pink pajamas.

"It's on this floor," whispered Liam.

"I know," said Vasilio, who was looking with great concern at Mori, "Come out to the main room. Whatever it is, we all need to stick together."

Vasilio helped Mori to her feet, and he and Liam almost carried her out to the main room where Stephanie and Ruth were waiting. Ruth looked just as scared as the rest of them, but Stephanie looked almost excited.

"I think it's coming this way," whispered Stephanie.

Liam strained his ears in the direction of the thumping sound.

"Um, guys," said Liam, "I think it's not just one."

"It's not," said Vasilio, who now had his arms wrapped protectively around Mori, "There's at least three of them, whatever they are."

They all listened for a moment.

"They're coming here," squealed Ruth, "We need to hide!"

"I want to see them," said Stephanie. Liam looked at her in a mixture of admiration and exasperation.

"I don't," said Rain. Mori let out a small sob.

The thumping was growing louder, and closer. And there was another sound. A weird, otherworldly whirring or droning. Ruth grabbed Liam's hand.

"They are almost here," said Stephanie. Liam shut his eyes.

"Stephanie, please, I don't want—" begged Mori, but Stephanie had made her move.

"Lucario, go!" she said.

Lucario let out a bark as it emerged from its Great Ball and stomped aggressively towards the empty door frame. In the hall outside, the thumping suddenly stopped.

"Go chase them off, Lucario," said Stephanie.

The Pokemon gritted its teeth and let out a sound like a giant knife being dragged along a washboard. Liam winced, but whatever was outside seemed to like it even less. The thumping sound started again, moving away from them, deeper into the abandoned building. The weird droning sound faded away. Mori was still shaking, but Liam felt his own breathing slow. He sighed, and pushed his sweaty hair out of his face.

"Are they… gone?" asked Ruth, in a very small voice.

"Yep," said Vasilio.

Ruth rushed over to Stephanie's Lucario and flung her arms around it.

"You saved us," she said, "You're amazing, Lucario."

Lucario looked a little ruffled, but not displeased, by the attention. Mori still looked shaken, and Liam, struck by an idea, rushed back to the room where he and Vasilio had been sleeping and returned with his Eevee in his arms. Mori accepted the Pokemon with a weak smile.

Stephanie alone didn't seem relieved. Taking a flashlight, she spent a few minutes peering at the dust in the hall while the other worked to get the small fire going again. She returned to the group as Rain was setting a teapot on the crackling flames.

"What were they?" asked Vasilio.

Stephanie shook her head.

"I don't know," she said, "They were Pokemon. I registered their footprints in my Pokedex, but there wasn't any data."

"Weird," said Liam.

"Lucario will keep watch in case they come back," added Stephanie, "So we can all go back to bed."

Liam looked over at Mori. She seemed to have recovered; at the very least, she wasn't trembling anymore, and Ruth had put a blanket over her shoulders.

"I'll let out Sneasel to stand guard too," said Liam, "He'll like the chance to be out at night."

Liam lay awake in his sleeping bag for a long time, wondering if the thumping sound would return. In the other room, he could hear Ruth snoring again, but besides that, the crackling of the fire, and the padded pacing of Lucario and Sneasel, Liam heard nothing. Vasilio didn't come back to bed; he sat up next to the fire watching Mori, who had moved her sleeping bag out into the main room. She fell asleep with Liam's Eevee curled up next to her.


	24. Chapter 24

Liam successfully resisted three attempts to wake him up the next morning before Mori finally dragged him out of his sleeping bag by his hair. After he changed his shirt and did his best to put his hair back in order, he found the others eating steamed baozi around the fire. His Sneasel was napping in the corner, but Mori was feeding Eevee most of her own baozi.

"I can't believe you're giving breakfast to my Pokemon when I haven't even eaten yet," grumbled Liam.

"Your fault for being the last one up, sleepy head," said Mori, "It's almost 7 o'clock. Eat your baozi and let's go."

She seemed to have recovered completely from the night before, and the mood in the group as a whole was cheerful. The fear of ghosts clearly couldn't survive the bright light of morning. As Liam scarfed down the remaining baozi, Vasilio packed his things for him.

"I wouldn't do this for you, but we need to get going," said Vasilio, dropping Liam's backpack and sleeping bag next to him.

"Thanks," muttered Liam.

Within ten minutes, they had collected their Pokemon, picked up their things, put out the small fire, and were on the road out of Prosperity Town. Liam did his best not to look up at the thousands of empty windows until they were far behind. Even in daylight, he didn't want to risk seeing whatever had made the noises the night before.

Despite the previous night's adventure, Liam's classmates set a quick pace and had left Prosperity Town's skyscraper apartments far behind by the time the sun's warmth had driven away the morning mist. Unlike on the previous day, they were eager to face any trainers they met, and made frequent stops for battles. Vasilio and Mori pulled off an impressive victory in a double battle against two locals in Team Virtue jackets. Liam had never seen Mori battle outside of class, and he enjoyed watching the contrast between Vasilio's serious battle face and the huge range of expressions that passed over Mori's face during the skirmish.

When they weren't battling, they had a lot of time to talk. They mostly chatted about the school year so far and their plans for the rest of the semester, but Liam's ears perked up when the topic of the Spring Banquet was brought up by Rain.

"People are going to start looking for dates as soon as we get back from break," she said, "Not that it matters to me. I'm going with my boyfriend."

"Oh, go ahead, rub it in," laughed Stephanie.

"Yeah, you already got to go last year," said Ruth, "It's the first time for all of us."

"So… what's the deal with Spring Banquet?" said Liam, more to Vasilio than to anyone else.

"It's just a dumb thing," said Mori, "People get dressed up, and dance, and eat, and you're supposed to go with a date."

"Only high schoolers can go," said Rain, "Unless you're invited by a high schooler."

"Like you last year," said Stephanie, rolling her eyes, "I hope you remember how much drama that caused."

"Oooh, drama?" asked Liam.

"You don't want to know," said Mori, "Also, Ruth still has war flashbacks. We don't want to upset her."

"Middle school is horrible," said Ruth, shuddering.

"Anyways," said Vasilio, turning to Liam, "It's usually weird to ask someone to go with you to Banquet before Lunar New Year if you're not dating them. It looks a little desperate."

"It's also gotten a little…. theatrical in the past year or two," said Stephanie.

"Yeah, I've seen marriage proposals with less pomp than some of the nonsense last year," said Vasilio.

"I think it's sweet," protested Rain.

"It's sweet for you because you're getting asked by someone who you already know likes you," said Vasilio, "It's weird when someone you didn't know liked you fills your locker with flowers or has their Pidgeotto fly around the school with a banner asking you to go."

"Both things that happened last year," said Mori, "Specifically because of Arthur and Taylor."

"Are you going with Jonah, Mori?" asked Stephanie.

It was an innocent enough question, and it seemed well-intentioned, but Mori's expression darkened as her eyes darted to Rain, then back to Stephanie.

"Probably not," she said, after a short pause.

"Oh, okay," said Stephanie, "Sorry if I was being nosy."

"No, it's fine," said Mori, "I just don't even know if I'm going at all. I don't even own a dress, for one thing."

"Do they make dresses in black khaki with chains?" asked Liam, grinning. Mori flicked him.

"You don't even really have to go with anyone," said Vasilio, trying to steer away from the topic of Mori and Jonah, "Plenty of people go without a date."

"Are you gonna ask anyone, Vasi?" asked Rain, slyly.

"Maybe," said Vasilio, running a hand through his white hair in the way he always did when he was uncomfortable.

"What about you, Liam?"

Liam thought for a moment. He knew exactly who he wanted to ask, but confessing that to Stephanie now would almost be like asking her, except in a simultaneously informal and desperate way.

"Also maybe," he said, finally.

"Boys," said Rain, rolling her eyes, "So many beautiful girls around you and all you can say is maybe."

"I didn't say there weren't beautiful girls around me," protested Liam, but Mori elbowed him before he could say any more.

"Okay, this conversation is over," said Mori, "As Liam's lawyer, I would like to advise him not to make a fool of himself by opening his mouth any further."

They stopped for lunch at a small clearing at the side of the road. From her small backpack, Ruth produced kimbap triangles, kimchi, and some small fish and passed them around the group. Mori, a picky eater as usual, wouldn't touch anything but the kimbap, but Liam devoured everything he was given. The lunch was all new to him, but he loved it, and especially the kimchi. Ruth seemed pleased by his enthusiasm, but didn't offer any him any extra. She was just as hungry as he was.

As they continued southward along the lakeshore after lunch, Liam found himself walking with Vasilio slightly behind the rest of the group. He wasn't really sure how to bring up the subject of the previous night, but after a few minutes, Vasilio brought it up for him.

"Mori gave me a scare last night," said Vasilio.

"Yeah," said Liam, "It's weird, because she seemed like she was really into staying the night in Prosperity Town."

"She has bad nightmares,' said Vasilio, "She woke up freaking out a few times during our class trip to Risingfire Town last year. Can you imagine waking up from a nightmare and then hearing that sound?"

"Yeah," said Liam, "What could it have been, anyways? I mean, lots of Pokemon jump around, but that weird whirring sound…"

"Ruth had a theory she mentioned, well, before you woke up," said Vasilio, "That maybe they were hopping vampire Pokemon. Nanzo has legends about those."

"So, we just spent the night with undiscovered Pokemon?"

Vasilio shrugged.

"Maybe. I mean, new Pokemon species come and go all the time. Could be some foreign Pokemon adapting to Nanzo, too. Who knows."

"Nanzoan Spoink?" asked Liam facetiously.

"Dude, if we were freaking out because of some Spoink last night, I don't want to know," laughed Vasilio.

Liam nodded, but at that moment he saw something out of the corner of his eye. After a quick double take, he grabbed an empty Pokeball off his belt and sprinted off the path. Vasilio watching in slight amazement as Liam threw the Pokeball at the scurrying form of a Seedot, nearly losing his balance in the process. The Pokeball met it mark, and after a few shakes made the click of a successful capture. Liam returned to the group with a please grin on his face.

"Downgrading from Bug Catcher to Youngster?" asked Vasilio. Liam rolled his eyes.

"I'm going for a Shiftry," he retorted, "And do you and Mori really have to make fun of me every time I catch anything?"

"You should catch better things!" shouted Mori from the front of the group.

Liam had only one battle that day. A large group of local trainers, mostly younger than their group, passed them heading north, and one of them noticed the Sneasel on Liam's shoulder.

"That's a Sneasel," said the boy, who looked about 11, "I'd like to see it fight. Will you battle me, foreigner?"

Liam agreed. He half-expected the one-on-one to be a breeze because of the other trainer's age, but he realized he was wrong the moment the boy sent out a Poliwrath. Sneasel's lack of type coverage proved fatal, but it managed to dodge Poliwrath's Submission attack twice before the rival Pokemon cleared Sneasel from the field with a flurry of blows. As Liam paid out the victory money to the boy, he realized that he had probably been played, and that accepting a battle with someone who already knew which Pokemon he would use hadn't been the smartest idea.

"You gotta be careful about these kids," said Vasilio, as the boy's group continued north towards Prosperity Town, "They're ruthless. The only kids you meet out here are from trainer schools."

"Yeah," said Liam, "I noticed."

He glanced over at Stephanie, wondering if she had noticed the way the kid had creamed him. She was smiling and talking to Rain, apparently oblivious to Liam's embarrassing defeat. Liam secretly wondered whether he would have preferred her to see it. At least she would have been watching.


	25. Chapter 25

They arrived at the Pokemon Center at the southern tip of South Cloud Lake around dinner time. Liam had been looking forward to the end of their day's march, but his relief at the sight of the Pokemon Center didn't last long. It was packed with local trainers. Every sofa, chair, and table in the entire center was occupied, and there was a line (or more accurately, a crowd) leading to the reception desk that nearly stretched out the door. Liam was frustrated and irritated, but Vasilio took the entire situation in stride.

"Guess we're sleeping outside," he said. Ruth gave a disappointed moan.

"I wanted to sleep in a bed, or at least on a couch," said Rain, looking at the packed Pokemon center with disgust.

"Well, outside it will have to be," said Stephanie, "Good thing we brought tents."

"Rain, you and Liam get in line for the Pokemon nurse," said Vasilio, taking off his belt and handing it to Liam, "We'll find somewhere to set up."

Liam nodded, but he would have preferred struggling fruitlessly with the tents to pushing his way to the front of a nebulous line that didn't seem to be moving anywhere. He followed Rain's lead, and soon found himself in the thick of the line, with locals around him glancing (and sometimes openly staring) at him and his three Pokemon belts. They paid no attention to Rain; people from Ferrum didn't stand out in Nanzo the way Unovans did. Liam wasn't offended—people stared at him the same way back in Johto, and he was sure a foreigner was a novelty in a remote Pokemon Center like this.

After about twenty minutes, they finally edged their way to the front of the crowd. Liam had expected the Pokemon nurse to refuse to take their six belts worth of Pokemon, be she accepted them without question. After a few minutes, she passed them back to Liam and Rain and they were shunted away from the desk by the crowd of trainers pressing up behind them. Liam found Vasilio and Stephanie setting up the tents in a clearing next to the Pokemon center. There were only two—a two man tent for Vasilio and Liam, and a four man tent for the girls—but they were still struggling with the second.

"This piece of crap," grumbled Vasilio, "It won't stand up."

"Want me to try?" asked Liam.

"Sure," said Vasilio, throwing down the two plastic rods he was holding, "Give it a go, Camper Liam."

Liam did his best to follow Stephanie's directions in assembling the frustrating array of pieces, but he hadn't made much progress before Vasilio got frustrated with not doing anything and took back over. With some assistance from Stephanie's Lucario, they finally got the second tent standing just as Ruth and Mori returned. Liam had been wondering where they had been, but his annoyance that they hadn't helped in putting up the tents faded immediately when he saw what they had brought back with them.

"I hope guys like lu mian," said Mori, "Because I wasn't doing any custom orders."

Liam had eaten lu mian in the alley across from the school before, but somehow it tasted even better than he remembered after walking for an entire day. His chopsticks were scraping the bottom of the paper bowl long before he was full, but he didn't want the others to know he was still hungry. He was sure Ruth wouldn't judge him—she finished her noodles almost as quickly as he did—but Stephanie was eating at such a moderate pace that Liam was sure he would look like a complete Snorlax to her if he went for seconds.

Liam was relieved when Mori offered him her leftover noodles. As he began digging into Mori's half-full paper bowl, a sound like a clap of thunder resounded overhead. Liam jumped, nearly dropping his second dinner in the process.

"What the heck was that?" he nearly shouted.

Ruth looked just as shaken as Liam, but Vasilio and Mori laughed.

"I forgot they don't do Lunar New Year in Johto," said Mori, "It was a firecracker. It's starting to get dark, so people are letting off fireworks. It's gonna be crazy tonight."

"It's a good thing we're outside of town," said Rain, "I can never sleep on the night before New Year's. It's so loud."

"That was loud too," said Ruth, who was still covering her ears.

"Well, let's hope the other trainers are considerate enough not to keep us up all night," said Vasilio.

As it got darker, the fireworks became more frequent. Now that Liam was expecting them, he really began to enjoy the bursts of bright color, resounding blasts of exploding gunpowder, and shrieking rockets. He didn't think much of the noisemakers that let off rapid-fire pops like a machine gun and left scraps of red paper all over the ground, but he understood the appeal, at least. Mori found Liam's interest in the fireworks amusing.

"It's gets old really quick," she said, "You'll hate them by next year."

"That's false," said Vasilio, flicking Mori, "Remember last year when we set of fireworks all night with Taylor? You had fun then."

"Maybe," said Mori, "Only a little."

At around 9 o'clock, Rain and Stephanie announced that they were going to try to sleep. Ruth soon followed them, but Mori sat out with Vasilio and Liam for a while longer, watching the fireworks with her headphones on. By about 9:45, she was dozing off onto Vasilio's shoulder. He nudged her awake and almost carried her to the girl's tent. Liam offered to let her have Eevee for the night again, but she shook her head.

"I'll be okay," she said, in a small, tired voice, "Thanks, Liam."

Liam and Vasilio settled into their own tent shortly after. It wasn't big enough to be comfortable, but Liam suspected they had a bit more room each than the girls. For a while, Vasilio read using his flashlight and Liam listened to his iPod as the fireworks continued to thunder outside. After about fifteen minutes of silence between them, Liam took off his headphones and looked at Vasilio.

"You wanna talk about girls?" he asked in a whisper.

"Good idea," said Vasilio, putting away his book with a grin.

"It's too bad Sylvia didn't come on this trip," began Liam, leaning towards Vasilio and doing his best to keep his voice down.

"Hey, don't rub it in," said Vasilio, "You've made it clear enough that you're glad Stephanie came along."

"Yep," said Liam, "Guess I've been pretty obvious. She's seriously amazing, though. And I don't just mean that she looks amazing."

"But that helps," interjected Vasilio.

"Oh shut up. She's a great trainer, she knows so much, she's not phased by anything, she's…"

"Majorly out of your league?" put in Vasilio.

Liam thought about it for a moment.

"You sound like Mori," he said at last.

"Well, she says I only like Sylvia because she's out of my league," said Vasilio, "Which isn't true. I've known Sylvia since fourth grade. I've liked her since fourth grade, actually. I know her really well. Probably better than Mori does."

"Do you think she likes you?" asked Liam.

"I don't know," said Vasilio, "Girls are impossible to read, you know. Mori acts like it's so easy to tell what they're thinking. Wish we could get them all mood rings or something."

"Hey, I know that song," said Liam with a wink.

Vasilio laughed.

"You should have seen how bad it was back in middle school. Like, constant warfare, mostly between Claire and whoever she wasn't friends with that week. Usually Mori."

"Who's Claire?" asked LIam.

"She left halfway through last year," explained Vasilio, "Her dad was the principal before Ms. Kahakai. She was so much drama. She thought that because her dad was principal the school belonged to her, I think. And then there was that time she dated David for a week—he was also before your time. It was just bad. Ruth couldn't handle it. Sylvia did her best to hold the class together, but I think everyone was relieved when her dad quit and they went back to Unova."

"Yikes."

"There was this one time," said Vasilio, "When Rain called her a wannabe dictator during math class and she stormed out of the room and went to her dad. But it was usually just subtle stuff. Weird drama between the girls we only saw from the outside. And it usually just got worse when we tried to help."

"Girls are weird," said Liam.

"Yeah, but they're also hot, and I think that cancels it out," said Vasili.

Liam laughed.

"You think the girls are talking about us in their tent?" asked Liam.

"I don't know," said Vasilio, "I mean, they must talk about guys sometimes, right? Rain's got a boyfriend and Mori… sort of does, but Stephanie and Ruth are single."

"Ruth really wants a boyfriend," said Liam, "I've heard her say it a few times."

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "But I don't know if either of us are potential boyfriend material in the mind of a Ferrum girl with a 4.0 GPA."

"What would you do if Ruth asked you out?" asked Liam.

"I don't know," said Vasilio, "I guess say no. What about you?"

"I think I'd give it a try." said Liam.

"Of course you would," chuckled Vasilio, "You're not very selective."

"I just like girls," said Liam, "I'd give anyone a chance that I don't completely hate. Also, I don't think you're so in love with Sylvia that you'd say no to Mori, are you?"

Vasilio chewed his tongue as he thought about the question.

"Dang it," he said, finally, "I would say yes. Mori's… I don't know, beyond hot. She's gorgeous. And I'd want to be there for her. Protect her."

"What if you had to choose between Mori and Sylvia?" asked Liam.

"I hate that question," said Vasilio, "I'll only answer it if I can ask you whatever I want afterwards."

"Okay," said Liam, "Now answer."

Vasilio ran his fingers through his hair and pounded his pillow in frustration.

"Sylvia," he blurted out, at last, "Now accept it before I change it."

"Okay," laughed Liam, "So what's your question for me?"

Vasilio thought for a moment.

"Of the girls you've met so far," began Vasilio, "And I mean, like, the ones you've actually talked to, not just the ones you've seen around, rank them according to who you'd like to date most."

"Shoot," said Liam, "That's hard. I guess least likely to date would be Rain, since she already has a boyfriend. She's hot, though."

"I already regret asking this question," said Vasilio, "Even at the bottom end of the list you're already drooling."

Liam gave a mischievous grin.

"I guess next would be Liz, for basically the same reasons," he continued.

"No matter who ends up as my girlfriend, I hope she doesn't fawn over me the way Liz does over Arthur," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes.

"I wouldn't mind," said Liam.

"Of course you wouldn't."

"Anyways," said Liam, "I think next would be Rebecca. She's cool, and she's kinda cute, but I just don't know her well. Then Sylvia. And not just because you've called her. She's not really my type."

"Oh ho," laughed Vasilio, "Camper Liam has a type now."

"Shut up," said Liam, reaching across the tent to flick Vasilio, "Next would be Ruth. She's cute, and having a girlfriend you could eat normally in front of seems like a big advantage. And then…"

He paused.

"Crap, this is where I have to choose between Mori and Stephanie."

"And Cass," put in Vasilio.

"Oh, yeah," said Liam, "Dang it, that makes it triple complicated. Um… I think I'm gonna go Cass, Stephanie, Mori."

"Mori takes the top spot," said Vasilio, somewhat surprised, "after the way you've been following Stephanie like a Lillipup these past two days?"

"I don't think I have any chance with Mori," said Liam, "She told me I wasn't her type."

"Not to get your hopes up," said Vasilio, lowering his voice even though they were already whispering, "But Mori told me Jonah was a "boring jock" when he first joined the class last year. Her taste in guys is… difficult to pin down."

Liam wanted to say that Vasilio had gotten his hopes up anyways, but a loud firecracker overhead made them both jump. From the other tent, Mori shouted a word that would have gotten her grounded if her dad had heard it.

"Guess we better get some sleep," said Vasilio, laying down in his sleeping bag, "We gotta get to Jadetower by the end of tomorrow, and that's gonna be the longest walk yet."

Liam secretly felt that he wanted to keep on talking about girls, but nodded and rolled over. As he lay awake, listening to the distant rumble of the fireworks, he thought about the four girls sleeping in the tent fifteen feet away. Whether any of them would ever be his girlfriend, he was excited to be travelling with them. Ruth, Rain, Stephanie, and Mori were, Liam was sure, the most amazing 9th grade girls in Nanzo, and even to be friends with them made him feel special.


	26. Chapter 26

Liam didn't sleep as well on the dirt as he had on the firm concrete back in Prosperity Town. He drifted in and out of a light doze, jolting awake with every loud bang and struggling to find a comfortable position. When daylight finally came, he was glad to be up off the hard ground. He went with Ruth to buy baozi for the group as the others packed up the tents. By the time they returned with two bags full of steamed pork buns, their entire campsite had been packed neatly into a few bags.

The road leaving South Cloud Lake was different from the parts of Route 3 they had already traveled along the lakeshore. The dirt path was rugged and uneven, winding through mountain passes, wide valleys, and over steep hills covered in shrubs and low trees. On either side, they saw terraced rice fields and the occasional distant farming town. They talked some and occasionally stopped to take in a view or point out a herd of wild Pokemon, but mostly they walked. By lunchtime, they were all sweaty and very glad that they had remembered to refill their water bottles before they left the Pokemon Center behind.

By the time they finally caught sight of the Jadetower skyline ahead of them, it was after 4 o'clock, and they were very ready for the first phase of their journey to be over. All Liam could think about was sleeping in a real bed without hard earth under his back or mysterious Pokemon thumping outside his room. The rugged green countryside around Jadetower was beautiful, but Liam thought he would have been much more likely to appreciate in through a train window.

As they got closer, Liam kept his eyes open for the jade tower that gave the city its name. He still hadn't spotted it by the time they reached the city limits, and remarked on this to Mori. She laughed.

"It's just a pagoda," she explained, "But Jadetower also just happens to be the name of the cigarette company that runs this city."

"They own everything," added Rain, "Even some places in Everspring are owned by the Jadetower Company. Like the sports center downtown."

"They're really expensive cigarettes," said Mori, "So I guess they can afford to own a whole city and build huge stuff all over Nanzo."

Liam noticed that Vasilio was looking at Mori with a knowing and amused expression. Mori seemed to notice it too.

"I've told you, I quit," said Mori to Vasilio, rolling her eyes.

"Be careful of the judgemental one with the white hair," Mori added to Liam in a loud whisper, "You mess up once and he'll never trust you again."

"One, I'm not that judgmental," said Vasilio, "Two, I'm just teasing you. I know you don't smoke anymore."

"Anymore?" asked Liam.

"See?" said Mori in exasperation, "You're trying to make Liam think I'm a bad influence. I used to smoke a little because of the kids I hung out with. I don't hang out with them anymore, and I don't smoke. Just because I like Ghost Pokemon doesn't mean I want to become one."

They caught a public bus into town at the city limits. It wasn't as new or clean as the busses back in Everspring, but it was empty enough for them all to take a seat. As they rattled their way into town, Liam noticed that Ruth was starting to doze on Rain's shoulder. Like on the previous night, they could hear fireworks exploding in the distance. Liam thought Jadetower looked a lot like Everspring, except not as modern. The apartment blocks they passed were very decidedly of the last millenium, but the city as a whole had a more rural feel than Evespring, with wider, emptier roads and small farms tucked between the modern buildings.

"Oh my gosh," said Vasilio, standing up in his seat and point out the window.

Liam saw it. The road in front of them was blocked completely by a mix of cars, busses, fire trucks, bicycles, and ambulances. The entire road was illuminated by a bright orange light almost as powerful as the light of day. They all soon saw why.

A few blocks ahead, a large building was engulfed in flames. Firefighters and their Pokemon were pouring water onto the blaze with little effect and doing their best to hold back the huge crowd of locals that had gathered to watch the disaster unfold. The bus driver immediately opened the doors and motioned for them to get off. They didn't argue. The fire had clearly made progressing along the usual route impossible. As soon as they got off, Rain rushed to find the nearest local and ask them what was going on.

"It's Team Truth's headquarters," explained a woman, "It has been burning for an hour. Maybe it was a fireworks accident?"

"Team Truth's headquarters," said Liam, staring at the burning building as its highest floor began to collapse into flaming debris, "Wait a second, what day is it?"

"It's Lunar New Year, Slowpoke," said Mori, but Ruth seemed to have understood the meaning behind his question.

"It's January 26," she said, staring at the distant blaze with something like horror, "The posters…"

"Yeah, I remember," said Vasilio, "But… that could just be coincidence, right? They did choose a pretty big day for their New Spring and Autumn or whatever they called it. We don't even know what that means."

"Let's go," said Ruth firmly.

Using a map Vasilio had brought, they left the blocked street and began wandering through side roads to find their way to the Pokemon Center. Although they could hear fireworks exploding in the distance and they passed a few revelers, the city seemed oddly quiet. They soon found themselves walking alone on a street with old concrete apartments on either side, lit only by a few flickering streetlights. As they turned a corner, they saw that the way they had planned to take to the Pokemon Center was blocked by a construction site.

"Crap," said Mori, "Great, now we have to find another way."

As they looked at the construction site and wondered how they could get around it, Liam noticed something very odd. There was a large crowd of people standing at the middle of the site, about twenty yards from where Liam stood, but none of them appeared to be construction workers. They wore white and gold uniforms, and their faces seemed to be painted—almost like Beizo opera masks.

"What's going on in this place?' asked Liam.

"Let's just keep going," said Rain, looking around nervously, "We can find another way around."

But the others were looking at the odd people Liam had spotted. Peering through the chain link fence, they could make out that the strangely-dressed people were gathered around a large pit, and they seemed to be lining up to toss something into it. A bright spotlight on a crane above illuminated the scene, but Liam still couldn't quite tell what was going on.

"Let's get closer," said Vasilio, "I wanna see this."

Each of them squeezed through a hole in the fence, doing their best not to make noise, and started to creep across the construction site. They kept to the shadows, avoiding the light cast by the crane's spotlight. As they got closer, they realized that the uniformed people were tossing Pokeballs into the large pit, and there seemed to be someone addressing them—someone they couldn't see because of their angle.

"Compassion is weakness," said the voice, which seemed to be that of a young woman, "And weakness is the enemy of victory. Discard your weakness. Cast off compassion and sympathy. Embrace strength, and power."

"This is Team Power," whispered Liam excitedly, "It must be. Ruth, this sounds exactly like what you told me."

Ruth didn't say anything. Her eyes were fixed on the pit were the trainers were discarding their weak Pokemon. There was something in her gaze—something Liam thought might be rage.

"In the Spring and Autumn Period," continued to the young woman's voice in a cold monotone, "The School of Power buried the Pokemon of their enemies. Today, we do the same for the Pokemon that hold us back. A new Spring and Autumn begins. Team Power Returns!"

The Team Power grunts gave a gutteral shout. A final grunt approached the pit and dumped an entire box of Pokeballs into the deep hole.

"What did she just say?" whispered Mori anxiously, "Did she say… bury?"

There was a sudden sound like a rush of wings, and Liam saw a large bird Pokemon of some kind fly off into the night with a trainers on its back—a trainer in white, with long blonde hair. It must have been the speaker, because the atmosphere in the construction site changed the moment she disappeared into the night sky.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" asked one of the grunts, "Anyone know how to drive a bulldozer?"

"No need," said another, seemingly the leader of the group, "My Graveler knows Earthquake. We can seal that tomb without having to fool around with heavy equipment or wasting an hour with shovels. Come on, let's take care of this quickly."

"Stop it!"

Ruth had walked out of the shadows and into the light coming from the crane above them. Several of the Team Power grunts turned and looked at her curiously. She looked back at them with something like fury on her face.

"How can you do this?" she shouted at them, "You are not Pokemon trainers!"

Liam heard the Team Power grunts laugh, contorting their weird opera mask faces in cruel smiles.

"You will not do this," said Ruth, firmly, "You will not bury these Pokemon."

"Get out of the way, foreigner," said one of the grunts as he took a step towards Ruth. Stephanie rushed to Ruth's side, following quickly by Mori.

"Stay away from her," said Stephanie, reaching for the Pokeball at her side. But Ruth had already made her move.

"Go," she said, "Blaziken."

The confident expressions of the masked grunts faltered slightly as Ruth's Blaziken burst from its Pokeball with a loud crow and Liam, Vasilio, and Rain rushed to join the others with their Pokeballs in hand. The lead grunt, however, reached for the Pokeball at his belt.

"These kids want a fight," he said, "Let's show them what Team Power stands for."

The Team Power grunts started towards them, Pokeballs in hand. Liam was ready to fight, but they were outnumbered at least two-to-one, maybe even three-to-one. As the lead grunt tossed out his first Pokemon, Ruth reached up and touched the earring in her right ear. Liam had never noticed anything unusual about this earring before, but he immediately realized what it was. Ruth's Blaziken was engulfed in energy and transformed into its Mega form, with streams of fire flowing out behind its clawed fists.

"Get 'em!" said the lead grunt.

It was chaos. Liam had thought Taylor and Liz's battle against the Team Balance gang had been frantic and unrestrained, but it was nothing to the wild ferocity of the battle raging around him. Pokemon darted through the dust and dirt as their trainers did their best to call out commands. Their attacks ricocheted off the construction equipment and concrete walls, striking not only other Pokemon but also trainers. One of the Team Power grunts took an Aura Sphere from Stephanie's Lucario, sending him flying. Mori barely dodged the falling body of an Onix that Mega Blaziken had knocked out with High Jump Kick. Liam's Sneasel dived and dodged its way through the chaos, hitting Pokemon after Pokemon with Faint Attack and Metal Claw. Vasilio's Amaura buried two opposing Pokemon and their trainers with an Avalanche, but not before Vasilio himself was hit in the face with a Rock Blast from an enemy Octillery.

At first, Liam was caught up in the excitement of the battle, and watched in awe as Ruth's Mega Blaziken tore through the enemy Pokemon with ease, building it speed and ferocity with each KO. But Team Power's numerical advantage soon turned the tide. Stephanie's Lucario crumpled to the ground under the wailing fists of an enemy Machamp. Vasilio was shielding his fainted Amaura from further attacks while holding his own bruised face. Ruth's Blaziken continued to clobber opposing Pokemon with its blazing kicks and punches, but the strain of facing so many Pokemon was beginning to show. Ruth herself was shouting commands through a bloody nose.

Liam was overcome by a sudden fear. What would happen to them and their Pokemon if they lost? Team Power were ready to bury weak Pokemon alive. What would they do to trainers they defeated? Liam flinched as an enemy Weezing sent his Sneasel flying with an Explosion. When he opened his eyes, he saw Mori stumbling over to Vasilio and his Amaura with a frightened expression. A Team Power grunt had grabbed Rain by the arm as she tried to recalled her fainted Aromatisse. Liam didn't know what to do. As he reached for the Murkrow on his belt, deciding to keep fighting while he still could, he felt a strange chill, as if a shadow had passed high above him.

The Team Power grunts seemed to have felt it too. They stopped shouting commands and looked up warily at moonlit sky. For a moment, they all heard nothing but the distant rumble of fireworks. Then, Liam heard it.

CHAAAAR!

Liam felt the shadow pass over again, but this time he saw what it was. A Charizard—a black Charizard—was circling above them. As it passed over the moon, Liam glimpsed a trainer riding on its back.

"What is that?" shouted one of the grunts.

They quickly found out. The winged Pokemon was gliding towards them, and as it swooped under the spotlight on the crane above, its trainer dismounted and dropped to the ground with the ease of an acrobat. He was older than Liam, but still young, with spiked dirty-blonde hair and a long black trench coat. As both the students and Team Power stared at him, he removed his dark shades nonchalantly and hung them from his shirt collar. Liam noticed a Key Stone glittering in the ring on his ring hand.

"So you're Team Power, huh?" said the trainer in a confident voice. The Team Power grunts flinched as his Charizard made another pass overhead.

"I suggest you all get out of Jadetower as quick as you know how," he continued, "Burning down Team Truth's HQ was a stupid thing to do, because now you've got my attention."

"Who's this guy?" asked one of the grunts, but the others were backing up.

"Don't be an idiot," said another sharply, with a slight tremble in his voice, "That's the league champion. Don't you recognize his Charizard?"

The Team Power grunts glanced uncomfortably at each other.

"Let's go," said the leader disdainfully. The grunts collected their Pokemon warily and began to walk very slowly out the construction site. However, they quickly lost their cool and broke into a sprint as the black Charizard swooped down towards them with a roar.

"Cowards," laughed the champion, turning his back to the fleeing grunts, "You kids from Everspring?"

He spotted Mori.

"Grace Shaw," he said, walking over to Mori and shaking her hand, "What are you all doing here?"

"We just got here," said Mori awkwardly, "I mean, we just got to Jadetower."

"We were trying to find the Pokemon Center," said Vasilio, who was holding his hand over his right eye, "We just happened to stumble into Team Power trying to bury those Pokemon. It was Ruth that picked the fight, though."

"That was a crazy thing to do," said the trainer, although Liam thought he looked impressed, "but you saved these Pokemon, for sure."

They looked back at the large hole in the ground filled with Pokeballs. At that moment, Liam noticed that sound of approaching sirens behind them. They all turned and looked at the metal gate Team Power had just fled through. Within seconds, police vans and cars were skidding to a halt and officers and Growlithe were pouring into the construction site.

"Let me take care of this," said the trainer. He walked over to the police officers and began talking to them in a low voice.

"Who is that?" Liam asked Mori.

"That's Silas," said Mori, who was looking at Vasilio with concern, "He was a senior at Everspring when we were were all in sixth grade. He's the Pokemon league champion."

"You know him?" asked Stephanie.

"Yeah," said Mori, "I mean, I know him a little. My parents are friends with his parents."

"The dude is a legend," said Vasilio, "He already had eight badges when he was our age."

Silas had finished talking to the police, who were now rushing over to inspect the pit full of discarded Pokeballs. As Silas turned back towards their group, the black Charizard landed next to him and gave a growl.

"Did you see 'em off?" Silas asked his Pokemon, It snarled in reply.

"Good," he said, then he looked back at Mori.

"They've left town. Should be safe for you guys to go the Pokemon Center and get some sleep."

"Thanks, Silas," said Mori, sheepishly.

"I'll head back to Everspring tonight and let Christine know what happened," he said as he mounted his Charizard, "She'll make sure your folks all know you're okay. I'll see you guys later, alright?"

They nodded, and watched in silent amazement as Silas and his Charizard sped away and faded from sight in the night sky. Rain let out a long sigh.

"We almost died," she said, with a definite tremble in her voice, "If he hadn't been here…"

Now that the danger and excitement had passed, Liam suddenly noticed that he was trembling too, and his right hand was stinging in pain. Looking around, he saw that none of them had escaped the battle unscathed. Vasilio had a black eye where he had been hit by the Rock Blast. The blood from Ruth's nose had dried on her chin. Rain had a dark bruise on her wrist where the Team Power grunt had grabbed her. Mori and Stephanie both had scratches on their arms.

"Vasi," said Mori, kneeling down next to him, "Can I look at it?"

"I'll be fine," said Vasilio, swatting away her hand, "Don't touch it. It just hurts."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at Vasilio very seriously.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, pushing himself back onto his feet, "I'm sure."

They recalled their injured and fainted Pokemon and started to walk slowly out of the construction site. As they reached the gate, an officer called to them.

"You are staying at the Pokemon center?" she asked.

"Yes," said Stephanie.

"I'll drive you there," said the officer, pointing them to her van.


	27. Chapter 27

Silas seemed to have sent word to the Pokemon Center that they were coming, because a Pokemon nurse met them outside the main doors and took their Pokemon straight to the center's healing station. As they sat in the lobby, another nurse examined Vasilio's black eye and Rain's wrist. Ruth washed the blood off her face in the bathroom.

After giving them back their Pokemon, the nurse led them up to a private room with four bunk beds. Clearly, Silas' guanxi (a local term roughly meaning "connections" that Liam had learned from Vasilio) was still at work. As they set down their bags and the nurse told them good night, Liam and his friends marveled at the course the night's events had taken. It was getting late, but they were all much too excited to go to bed, so they sat up discussing everything they had seen.

"What do you think will happen to those Pokemon?" asked Rain, who had climbed up to one of the top bunks.

"I don't know what happens to abandoned Pokemon in Nanzo," said Stephanie, "They can't just release them."

"There had to be at least 50 Pokeballs in that pit," said Liam, "And I bet this wasn't the only place they did this."

"Oh god," said Mori, her eyes growing wide, "I don't want to think about that."

"It's horrible," said Ruth, in a small voice.

"How did they just come back out of nowhere?" asked Liam, "They had uniforms and everything."

"Clearly they've been planning this for a while," said Vasilio, "And there's a lot of them. Think about how many posters got put up back in Everspring. And that graffiti outside the north gate of New Court."

"We need to be careful from now on," said Stephanie,

"Maybe whatever they tried to start tonight didn't work," said Liam, hopefully, "I mean, with Silas after them, it seems like they don't stand a chance."

"Silas can't be everywhere," said Vasilio, seriously, "I think we're gonna have to look out for each other."

They all nodded.

"Is your wrist alright, Rain?" asked Stephanie.

"Mmhmm," said Rain, "It's just bruised."

"I think Vasi got it worst," said Mori, pointing to Vasilio's black eye.

"I told you I'm fine," protested Vasilio.

"Do you mind if I look without touching?" asked Stephanie.

"Sure, I guess," said Vasilio, lowering the ice pack he had been holding against his face.

Stephanie crouched in front of him and looked carefully at his black eye. Liam felt a little jealous of his friend as Stephanie's sea-green eyes carefully studied Vasilio's bruise.

"How come she gets to play nurse?" asked Mori, rolling her eyes.

"Because I don't touch," said Stephanie, with a slight smile, "Looks pretty bad, Vasi. We should send you back to Everspring tomorrow so you can go to the international clinic."

"Heck. No." said Vasilio firmly, "I've got two badges to get."

"Well, try not to fall on your face, then," smirked Liam.

"Thanks, I'll do my best," said Vasilio, sarcastically.

At about 11 o'clock, Stephanie decided they all needed to go to bed. They were still planning to challenge a gym the next day, and their bodies were still aching and sore from the day's adventure. However, as Liam laid down on the bunk below Vasilio, his mind was still racing. Team Power. He couldn't stop thinking about them. There was something so hateful about them. He had heard about what Team Rocket had done in Kanto and Johto years ago, but to see people with such callous disregard for Pokemon in real life was different. Liam clenched his teeth as he thought about the way they had laughed at Ruth.

He hated them. He hated Team Power.

Liam stared at the bunk above him for about half an hour, mentally raging against Team Power and their worship of strength over everything else. Suddenly, he heard the sound of Ruth getting out of the bottom bunk across from him. He watched her as she crept out into the hall and closed the door behind her. Doing his best not to wake Vasilio and the others, Liam slid out of bed to follow her.

Ruth was sitting on the floor outside the room. Her eyes were almost closed, but her forehead was contorted with concentration. She didn't look up as Liam asked if he join her.

"Okay," she said simply.

Liam closed the door softly and sat down next to her. For a long time, neither of them said anything.

"They're horrible," said Ruth, who had finally opened her eyes to stare at the wall.

"Yeah," said Liam, "I can't believe… I can't believe they could…"

Liam didn't finish his sentence. He felt the tears running down his face. Everything he had seen that evening was rushing back to him, but now he was feeling it all.

"I wish I could bury them all in that pit!" sobbed Liam.

"No!" said Ruth, firmly.

"I do," insisted Liam, "They should suffer for what they want to do to Pokemon!"

"We will beat them," said Ruth, "We will show them that Pokemon are friends by beating them."

Liam breathed heavily, waiting for the tears to stop.

"Ruth, I'm not like you," he said, wiping his eyes, "I'm not a great trainer."

"I am not a great trainer," said Ruth, looking at Liam with genuine surprise.

"Ruth," said Liam, "What… what you did tonight was the bravest thing I have ever seen. You went out there to fight them alone."

"I didn't think about it," said Ruth, "I just wanted to save the Pokemon."

"You weren't afraid?" asked Liam.

"I was angry," said Ruth. Liam laughed.

"I do not get angry often," she continued, "But I am very, very angry at Team Power."

"Do you think we'll meet them again?" asked Liam.

Ruth nodded.

"They are very bad," she said, "They will try to hurt Pokemon again."

They were both quiet for a few minutes.

"I hope everyone back in Everspring is safe," said Liam.

"Everspring is very safe," said Ruth, "They would not show themselves there."

"You're sure?" asked Liam.

Ruth nodded vigorously. Liam found her confidence comforting. Right now, he needed Everspring to be safe.


	28. Chapter 28

Liam woke the next morning to Vasilio closing the door as he came back into their room. His eye was still dark and swollen, and he had a defeated expression on his face.

"We have to go back home," he said as he sat down on Liam's bunk dejectedly.

"Why?" said Liam, sitting up quickly, "Did someone's parents call?"

"Everyone's parents called," said Stephanie, who was making her bed.

"Mine were first," said Mori.

She looked even more upset than Vasilio. She was hugging her knees to her chest and staring at the tile floor with an almost blank expression. Above her, Misdreavus drifted listlessly.

"Christine's buying us tickets on the train back this afternoon," explained Rain.

"Can we go back to why?" said Liam frustratedly.

"They say it's not safe to be travelling alone with Team Power out there," said Vasilio, who was now shoving his belongings roughly into his backpack.

"What about the gym?" asked Liam. Vasilio shrugged.

"I think we can still go," said Stephanie, "It depends on when we leave."

"We should if we can," said Liam, who began to imitate Vasilio in quickly packing his things.

The train back to Everspring turned out to be at 4:00 in the afternoon, giving them plenty of time to visit the Jadetower Gym. They checked out of the Pokemon Center around 9 o'clock and took a public bus into the heart of town. Liam's impressions of Jadetower from the night before were more or less confirmed in the daylight; it was a slightly shabbier and more rural counterpart to Everspring, with the same tall, concrete apartments, small convenience stores, crowded bike lanes, and unexpected city parks that gave Everspring its charm. They got off at the fourth stop from the Pokemon Center at what turned out to be the bottom of a large hill covered in thick trees, jutting up like a green island in the sea of weathered concrete apartment blocks.

"This is Jadetower Park," said Vasilio, double-checking his map, "The gym is up this hill."

Ruth looked at the hill with obvious trepidation. Her shorts legs had been tried more than the others on the trip so far, and she wasn't looking forward to another hill after the number they had climbed over the day before.

"Who's the gym leader here?" asked Liam, as they started marking their way up a stone avenue that led up the hill at an incline. The trees on either side kept them from seeing what would meet them at the top.

"Fei. She's a Flying-type specialist," said Stephanie,

"Vasi was so set on coming here because he's got a type advantage," said Mori. Vasilio flicked her on the shoulder.

As they crested the hill, the trees suddenly parted and Liam saw a long green lawn leading to a stone pagoda painted to resemble jade. The lawn was bustling with people, and almost all of them were taking advantage of the elevated open space to fly kites. Liam stared in wonder at the huge variety of brightly-colored kites whirling above him. Some were simple kites intended for children in diamond and triangular shapes, but others were intricate recreations of of rare and legendary Pokemon, complete with moving parts. The latter were guided expertly through the sky by the seasoned hands of older locals. They tugged on their kite strings with effortless control as their kites danced in the sky above them.

As he was marveling at the kites, Liam noticed that one—a large, white kite with a bright red tail—was heading directly towards them. As it approached, Liam realized that it wasn't really a kite; it was a glider, piloted by what looked like a child holding its frame from below. The kite landed smoothly in from of them and Liam saw that its pilot was a young girl, maybe 10 years old. She wore a black and red traditional costume with dozens of silver tassels dangling from the shoulders. Her black hair was tied into two small buns. She looked up at them curiously, holding her large kite over her shoulder.

"Are you foreign trainers?" she asked. Her voice was friendly, and her eyes gave off an excited sparkle.

"Yes," said Ruth.

"I am Fei," she said, smiling eagerly, "This is my gym."

She pointed straight up into the sky above them.

"I have always loved to fly," she continued, "I am a champion with both kites and bird Pokemon. I love the danger. To be flying is also to be falling through the wind."

She gave another grin.

"The excitement of battle is the only thing equal to the excitement of flying. My secret is control. For the master kite-flyer, the kite becomes a part of you. It moves as you move. For the master Pokemon trainer, you and the Pokemon are one. You control your Pokemon as you control yourself."

She looked excitedly around at them,

"Who is my first challenger?"

Rain was first up. As the battle began, Fei and her kite rose back into the air to command her Pokemon from above. At first, Liam wondered if the people around them would pull down their kites to avoid them being ruined in the battle, but it quickly became clear that far from being an annoyance, the kites were an intentional added challenge. Fei's flying Pokemon used the kites to confound their enemies, swerving through the forest of paper and string with ease as the enemy Pokemon struggled to keep up with their movements. Rain's Xatu became tangled in a kite's lines as it tried to follow the weaves and dives of Fei's Pokemon, but her Aromatisse's Moonblast finished the job. Vasilio's Amaura swept Fei's team with ease, knocking her Flying Pokemon out of the sky with Aurora Beam. Stephanie and Fei faced down in a battle of the Talonflames, as their Pokemon dived at each other between the wings, strings, and tails of the kites above. Fei seemed delighted to be defeated by Stephanie's bird Pokemon, and even gave the Talonflame a hug before sailing back up into the sky to face Ruth.

Ruth's battle against Fei turned out to be the most exciting yet. Her Mega Blaziken used the kites as stepping stones as it fought Fei's Mega Altaria in the air high above. Blaziken may not have been flying type, but it turned Fei's chosen battlefield hazards against her, ending the fighting with a spectacular Brave Bird attack that knocked Altaria from the sky.

"You are very good," said Fei, as she handed Ruth her badge, "I can't wait to see you at Tubon Plateau."

Ruth bowed to Fei as she received her badge, which made the gym leader giggle.

"You are a very great trainer," said Ruth, with an awkward deference Liam thought was a little excessive for talking to a 10-year-old, "I hope to battle you again."

Liam was up next. He chose Sneasel to lead out, hoping that his Icy Wind would make short work of Fei's Flying Pokemon. He took out Fei's Altaria with ease, but her Talonflame proved a much greater challenge. Sneasel's predatory eyes followed the bright orange bird as it circled overhead, but he couldn't escape the sudden dive of its Flame Charge, which left Sneasel burned and almost unable to continue fighting. Sneasel managed a Faint Attack before Talonflame swept it off the battlefield with another Flame Charge. It cawed with satisfaction as Liam wondered with Pokemon he should choose next.

He knew that Murkrow was a solid option. If he could land a Foul Play on Talonflame, he would turn its attack power against it, but he also began to worry that he was using his overleveled Murkrow as a crutch.

"Liam!" said Mori, impatiently, "I'm about to fall asleep over here. Witchy bird, now!"

Liam shrugged and send out Murkrow. Mori was right. If he was here to win, Murkrow was the only choice.

Murkrow gave him a scare the first time Fei's Talonflame landed a Brave Bird attack, but Murkrow's Foul Play made short work of the enemy. Murkrow cawed delightedly as Fei recalled her fainted Talonflame and landed in front of Liam.

"Your Murkrow flies like a Pokemon that has not been given the freedom it desires," she said, as she handed him a badge shaped like a bright red kite.

"It lived in a cage before I bought it," said Liam, "It… seemed unhappy."

"It's very happy now," said Fei, pointing up as Murkrow, which was whirling through the air with a self-satisfaction Liam almost felt like scolding, "This is the Kite Badge. The Kite is an ancient tradition of Nanzo, requiring many years of patience and diligence to master. Treat your Pokemon with the care and persistence that you see in these kite masters, and battling will soon be as natural to you as flying is to birds."

It was now Mori's turn. Liam was curious to see how this match would play out. Mori rarely used her Pokemon to battle, and seemed generally indifferent about collecting gym badges. Liam felt nervous on Mori's behalf as she chose a Pokeball from her backpack and Fe soared back up into the sky on her giant kite.

"Missy," said Mori, "You got this."

Liam's anxiety for Mori intensified. The last time he had seen Mori battle, she had used Nincada, who obviously wasn't suited to a match against a Talonflame or Altaria. Mori's Misdreavus didn't seem to have the temperment for battling, and the way it started drifting in its usual nonchalant manner made Liam even more concerned.

"Missy," said Mori, "Use Confuse Ray."

Misdreavus giggled as it launched a shimmering ray at Fei's Talonflame. The bird Pokemon started to fly unevenly, as it struggling to keep its balance.

"Flame Charge, Talonflame!" shouted Fei.

Talonflame tried to Flame Charge, but ended up tangling itself in a kite string and tumbling to the ground in front of Misdreavus. The Ghost Pokemon let out a high-pitched laugh.

"Get 'em with Thunderbolt," said Mori.

"Since when does Misdreavus know Thunderbolt?" said Liam to Vasilio, but his words were drowned by the loud zap as a bolt of electricity fried Talonflame where lay. Misdreavus did a little flip as Talonflame groaned.

"Talonflame, come back," said Fei, swooping down to return it to its Pokeball, "Altaria, go!"

"Will-o-Wisp, Missy," said Mori.

With a weird glee, Misdreavus sent purple flames toward Altaria, which flew directly into them and winced as the burn took hold.

"Use Disarming Voice, Altaria!" shouted Fei. Liam and the others plugged their ears as Altaria's musical cry rippled through the air and knocked Misdreavus back. Mori said a word that made Rain give a scandalized look around the group, but she quickly recovered herself.

"Get that puffball with Hex, Missy!"

The smolders of Altaria's burn suddenly ignited into bright purple flames. The Pokemon cried out in pain as Misdreavus cackled with malicious glee.

"Altaria," said Fei, "Use Disarming Voice again."

Altaria let out another cry, and this time the power of its voice sent Misdreavus tumbling through the air. As Mori rushed to check on her Pokemon, it was clear that it had fainted.

"Crap," said Mori, "Crap crap crap crap crap."

She returned Misdreavus to its Pokeball and looked up at Altaria, with was leaving a wispy trail of smoke and embers at it circled above.

"Sorry, Nin," she said, quietly, "Vasi will kill us if we don't get this badge."

And to Liam's amazement, Mori sent out her Nincada to face down Altaria. The cloudlike Pokemon looked down at Nincada with obvious surprise and what might have been contempt.

"Okay, Altaria," said Fei, "Aerial Ace."

Liam didn't want to look. Even burned and wounded, Fei's Altaria was more than a match for Mori's tiny Nincada. As Altaria swooped down on its prey, Nincada seemed unaware of its danger. Its black eyes stared unblinkly at the approaching beak ready to drive from the field in vicious tear.

"Metal Claw, Nin!"

With the swiftness and precision none of them expected, Nincada lifted its right claw and jabbed the Altaria in the neck, barely avoiding the beak at Altaria crashed to the ground behind it and flopped into a faint. Ruth gave a squeal, while Liam stared in silent disbelief.

"Nin!" shouted Mori, pulling Nincada into a hug, "Oh my god, Nin, you did it! You did it!"

Liam had never seen Mori so exuberant. She was almost dancing. Nincada was just as expressionless as always, but Liam was sure it was just as pleased as Mori. Mori would have squeezed her Nincada to death had it not started to glow.

"Oh, Nin!"

Mori let go of her Pokemon as quickly as she had scooped with up, and they all gathered to watch as Nincada's glowing form rose into the air and split into Ninjask and Shedinja. Mori was actually crying by the time Fei had landed next to her and handed her the Kite Badge.

"Your Pokemon's' strength comes from their bond with you," said Fei to Mori, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you see Pokemon as friends first."

"Thank you," said Mori, wiping the tears from her face.

"Ordinarily, I would have a gift for all of you," said Fei, addressing the group with her weird mix of professionalism and childish enthusiasm, "But my TMs were destroyed last night when the Team Truth building was burned down. So instead, I will give you a little battle wisdom from Team Truth. The mystery of Pokemon battle cannot be found through the mind, but only by the heart. The bond between trainer and Pokemon is the same bond that exists between all things. Find that bond, and everything else falls into place."

She gave a serious bow, grinned, and leapt back up into the sky with her kite. They watched as she soared up and around the jade tower and soon became just one kite among many flying above the green hill in Jadetower Park.


	29. Chapter 29

By the time they boarded the train back to Everspring, the emotional high of their victory had passed and the disappointment of trip cut short had settled back over them. Mori took it the hardest. This trip had been a chance to be away from her overbearing parents—a chance to spend time with people who liked her for herself. And through no fault of her own, it had been snatched from her. She spent the train ride looking out the window with her headphones on, ignoring Liam and the others. Liam had his headphones on too, but he spent most of the journey home looking at his friends—especially at Mori. Despite his initial frustration, Liam didn't actually mind the trip being cut short. He felt that he had had enough adventure for one break already. But he knew what going home meant to Mori, and to Vasilio—who had spent so much time planning it. Stephanie appeared to be the least put out of the group, and her smiles and laughs gave the journey some much-needed joy.

Miss Snyder, Cass, and Taylor met them at the Everspring station. Cass began bombarding them all with questions as she gave each a tight hug.

"I heard you guys fought Team Power," said Cass, "Oh my gosh, that must have been scary. Is it true that Silas saved you? They were in Everspring too, you know. Mr. Liu—Arthur's dad, he's the police chief—arrested some of them and managed to dig up the Pokeballs before—well, I'm glad you were there in Jadetower. Oh, Vasilio, what happened to your—did one of them do that to you? Oh, and your wrist, Rain—I didn't realize how serious—"

Liam glanced over at Ruth. If she was shaken by the news that Team Power had been in Everspring as well, she didn't show it.

"Looks like you guys are all safe," said Miss Snyder, "You're lucky Silas was there, though. Don't do anything like that again. You should have called 110."

"There wasn't really time to think," protested Liam.

"I know, and believe me, I'm proud of you guys for doing the right thing," said Miss Snyder, "But I don't want to think about what would have happened…"

"Is it safe here, Christine?" asked Rain.

"Looks like it," replied Miss Snyder, "Tobias and Ashima stopped them from breaking into the radio tower near the White Musdale statue. We haven't seen any around the school or New Court."

"Me and Liz went out looking for them last night, soon as we heard what had happened to you guys," said Taylor.

"For which you were rightly scolded," said Miss Snyder, "Anyways, let's get going. I've got two vans waiting for us. We've got to get you guys to the international clinic to get checked up."

Liam was glad he hadn't known Stephanie's parents worked at the international clinic. He would have been a nervous wreck trying to prepare himself to meet them; instead, he was awkward and silent as they inspected Vasilio's black eye and Rain's bruised wrist and cleaned the cuts on Stephanie's arms. Mori refused to be looked at, and the two Dr. Thibaults didn't press the issue. Liam reminded himself that they had probably known Mori much longer than he had, so they knew just as well as he did that arguing with Mori never achieved anything.

Liam, Mori, Taylor, Cass, and Vasilio rode Bus 81 from the clinic back to New Court. They spent a long time sitting below Mori's apartment talking the previous day's events over, partially to satisfy Taylor and Cass's curiosity, and partially to give Mori an excuse to not go home quite yet. But before long, Mori's phone rang and she made a hurried goodbye to the group before beginning her long, slow walk up to the 8th floor. It hurt Liam to see the look on Mori's face as she left. The others were disappointed to have to come home early; Mori was devastated.

"I really hope this doesn't ruin anything else the school had planned for this year," said Cass, as they sat around the New Court fountain together, "I mean, not that you guys ruined anything. But Team Power—what if they cancel the Village Trip? Or the Spring Banquet."

"It'll be fine, dude," said Taylor, "They're on the run. Whatever they wanted to do on Lunar New Year, I don't think it worked out."

Liam wasn't so sure. He remembered the blond-haired young woman that had disappeared into the night sky before they fought the Team Power grunts. No one had said anything about her. And she might not even be the leader. Silas and the gym leaders were strong, but were they strong enough to protect all of Nanzo from Team Power?

"Where's Team Balance's HQ?" asked Liam, abruptly.

"It's in Hempshear," said Taylor, "It's like… three or four hours west of here by bus."

"What about Team Virtue?"

"I think it's in Oldmist Town," said Cass, "But I doubt Team Power would be too worried about them—I mean, they're the smallest team in Nanzo. Why would they want to—?"

"Revenge?" suggested Liam.

"Oh yeah," said Cass, "I guess that makes sense."

"Either way," said Vasilio, "Team Power's next move won't be in Everspring, or anywhere near it. So we're safe. At least for now."

Liam nodded, but as he made his way from New Court back to White Gardens, he kept looking for his shoulder, as if he expected to see sneering Team Power grunts tailing him. It wasn't that he was afraid of them—he wanted to send them running like Silas had. He wanted another chance to fight Team Power.


	30. Chapter 30

There were no sightings of Team Power in or around Everspring for the rest of the Lunar New Year holiday. Liam, Vasilio and Mori made a few trips to Feather and Petal, the Woven Bowl, and Bookwood Street, but the rest of the break seemed uneventful to Liam compared to their few days spent on the road to Jadetower. By the second week of break, he was almost eager for school to start again; the long hours spent alone at home and the weird absence of Team Power after their face-to-face encounter in Jadetower made Liam restless. He just wanted something to happen, and going back to school was something.

There was a pop quiz in Werner's Tactics class on the first day back. These pop quizzes weren't usually a problem—Liam could remember half of what Werner wanted and bluff his way through the rest—but his experience with Team Power had changed something. Before, Liam had found Werner's obsession with Pokemon stats and natures annoying; now, he saw something malicious about it. Reducing Pokemon to numbers on a chart felt like something Team Power would love. When Werner asked him to compare the special defense stats of two Slowpokes, Liam imagined Werner holding them both over a pit full of discarded Pokeballs, forcing him to choose which would be thrown away and buried.

Throughout the entire class, Liam's silent anger at Werner had been building. Liam usually didn't lose his temper in public, but by the time Werner set the quiz on his desk, he was in a blind rage, and began scrawling a rant across the quiz sheet. He accused Werner of seeing Pokemon as things and being so obsessed with numbers that he would throw away weak Pokemon without a thought. By the time the bell rang, Liam had covered both sides of his quiz sheet with angry ramblings, and found himself with no option but to turn it in. He slapped his paper down on Werner's desk and rushed out of class before Werner could read it.

Liam didn't say much during lunch with Vasilio and Taylor. He felt incredibly foolish. No matter how angry Werner's class made him, turning in a rant against a teacher was a stupid thing to do. He was sure he would be in the principal's office by the end of the day—the rest of the afternoon would just be a waiting game. As he walked back through the school gate, he wasn't surprised to bump into Miss Snyder.

"Liam," she said, "Professor Werner wants to talk to you before your next class."

Liam nodded. By the time he had made it to the door of Werner's room, he was trembling. He stood outside for more than a minute before he had the courage to knock.

"Come in," said Werner.

Liam found Werner sitting at his large wooden desk next to the door. He gestured for Liam to take a seat in the front row without looking up from the papers he was grading. Liam sat down awkwardly, wondering if Werner was about to explode.

"I've had lots of students panic on my quizzes before," said Werner, who still hadn't looked up from his stack of papers, "But I've never had them accuse me of not caring about Pokemon. I thought it would be good to let you explain yourself in person."

Liam seemed to have lost the ability to speak. He did his best to avoid looking in Werner's direction as he struggled to find the words.

"I heard from Christine about what happened over the break," said Werner, setting his pen down and looking at Liam with his intense blue eyes.

"They—Team Power—they only like strong Pokemon," stammered Liam.

"I know," said Werner.

"They kill weak Pokemon," said Liam, "Did you know that?"

Werner nodded.

"They did the same thing two thousands years ago," he said..

"They do it because they think Pokemon are just statistics," said Liam, trying very hard not to shout or cry under Werner's unblinking gaze, "They think weak Pokemon are just… trash."

Werner stroked his chin thoughtfully. Liam wasn't particularly good at guessing the thoughts of others, but he truly had no idea what was going through Werner's mind.

"Let me show you something," said Werner abruptly, limping over to the shelf behind his desk and taking down a thick red book.

"This is The Art of Battle," he explained, setting the book down in front of Liam, "It's one of the most important books of Pokemon battling ever written. Master trainers around the world still study it, even though it's thousands of years old."

"Interesting..." said Liam cautiously, opening the book to the first page.

"What I haven't told you," said Werner, "Is that the author of this book was a disciple of the first Grandmaster of the School of Power."

Liam let go of the book as if it had shocked him.

"The School of Power produced some of the greatest battle tacticians the world of Pokemon has even known," continued Werner, picking up the book and eyeing it with a curious expression.

"So, you… like Team Power?" asked Liam, trying to control himself but feeling his breath quicken and his voice become louder and more staccato.

"No," said Werner, looking Liam straight in the eye, "I'm a member of Team Virtue. I have been for over seventy years. You see, what the School of Power didn't have was something worth fighting for. They saw victory as an end in itself; to them, law and order were justified on their own merits, without any understanding of why people and Pokemon desire to live peaceful, happy lives. The bond between the Pokemon and its trainer is the most important part of any battle. Strong Pokemon, weak Pokemon…"

"...that is only the selfish perception of people," said Liam, as if understanding the words for the first time.

"Johto's Karen is a great trainer," said Werner, "And she understands something that Team Power never will; all Pokemon are fearful and wonderful creatures, worthy of our respect and friendship. Any trainer that is not willing to die for their Pokemon does not deserve them."

He spoke those words which such emotion that Liam felt slightly defensive. Could he truly say that of himself?

"Have you ever seen a Pokemon die, Liam?" asked Werner, suddenly.

"No," said Liam, with a very small voice.

"Pray to Arceus that you never do," said Werner, flipping through the pages of the red book.

"I want to fight Team Power," said Liam, abruptly.

"Good," said Werner, without looking up, "You should want to fight them. But I would point out that one of the best ways you can fight them is to know their weapons and use them against them."

He set down The Art of Battle and tapped its cover.

"I want to join Team Virtue," said Liam, "If they defeated them before, they're our best chance to defeat them again."

Werner gave a very, very small smile.

"We meet on Thursdays after school," said Werner, taking up the book and returning it to his shelf, "Come prepared to battle."


	31. Chapter 31

Team Virtue met in the huge canvas tent across from the main school building that served as the lunch room for the younger students. If Liam hadn't seen Werner there, he wouldn't have been sure he was in the right place. There were only four or five other students besides himself, but they greeted him eagerly.

"Finally, someone Professor Werner didn't scare away," said Timothy, a tall, black-haired 11th grade student who shook Liam's hand warmly.

Apart from Timothy, the other members of the Team were all younger than Liam—one was in 8th grade, the other three in 7th. They were a nerdy, awkward bunch, which gave Liam a strange boost of confidence. He could fit in here. After every student had introduced themselves, Werner called Liam over and presented him with a dark green uniform jacket and added an update to his Pokedex.

"You're a novice in Team Virtue now," said Werner, "Let me remind you of what that means. The School of Virtue was established in the time of the Hundred Schools of Battle, when chaos reigned over the land and there was neither law nor authority. The founder of the school, Grandmaster Kong, taught that Pokemon battles should be governed by order and tradition, with both Pokemon and trainer understanding their different role. Just as the trainer does not battle, the Pokemon does not give orders. Each fulfills their role by understanding it. The relationship between the trainer and their Pokemon is not a relationship of equals, but that does not mean it is not a relationship of friends. Pokemon and trainers are always learning from each other, desiring to grow in knowledge and virtue so that they may fulfill their own role with excellence. Team Virtue rejects cruelty, partiality, and the pursuit of power for its own sake. Truth, harmony, and self-control are our weapons."

Werner leaned a little closer to Liam.

"Whenever you wear this jacket, you are telling other trainers that you battle according to the precepts of Team Virtue, and you must be ready to demonstrate that at any time."

Liam nodded. Werner patted him on the shoulder and hobbled his way to the middle of the tent. He addressed the other students in a louder, slightly nasally tone.

"As you have all heard, the School of Power has returned from out of the past. Team Power respect neither virtue nor tradition. As in the Spring and Autumn Period, they desire only victory, at any cost."

Liam thought the younger students looked nervous.

"Team Power are enemies to all Pokemon and their trainers," continued Werner, "They see weakness not as a chance to learn, but as an error to be crushed."

Werner slammed his wiry fist into his palm. His watery blue eyes darted around with an almost wrathful expression.

"Do not take Team Power lightly. Their school has produced many great masters of battle, and they will attempt to use any methods to gain victory. You must be ready to answer them. The safety of your Pokemon may depend on it."

Liam and the other students nodded seriously. Werner seemed pleased by their set faces.

"Let's begin with some of our usual exercises. Timothy, you'll take on Liam."

Timothy nodded and took his place on one side on the tent. Liam wondered whether they would have room for a Pokemon battle inside, but he took his place and sent out his Sneasel to face down Timothy's Jolteon. Liam quickly realized this was a different kind of battle. Werner interrogated their every command, making them explain not only what they were doing but why they were doing it. It was a slow and awkward way of battling, and made Liam feel a little uncomfortable. Yet he also found that having to justify his next move to Werner helped him focus on the battle, and before long his explanations and justifications for each action were improving. He didn't win the battle, but he still felt that he had gained something.

"If your Pokemon see that you are willing to learn from your own mistakes," said Werner, as Liam recalled his defeated Sneasel, "They will respect your commands. The superior trainer in any battle is the one willing to accept correction."

Liam caught the Bus 77 back to White Gardens at about 5 o'clock. The sun was already setting, and apart from two of the younger students from Team Virtue, he was the lone foreigner on a bus packed with locals. Around New Court, he finally managed to find a seat. He was tired. Team Virtue training had taken more out of him than he expected—Werner was the same strict and methodical teacher outside the classroom as he was in it. And yet, he was certain he wanted to go back. He felt stronger. His thoughts had gained a weird sense of clarity. He took the Pokeball that held his Sneasel from his belt and held just a few inches from his face.

"Next time, we'll be ready," he whispered. The Pokeball stirred in his hand.


	32. Chapter 32

Youth Group started up again the Friday before break ended, but Liam didn't join Vasilio and the others for their usual trip to the shao kao place afterwards. He had seen Vasi and Mori a lot that week, so he decided to go back to CD store near Bookwood by himself instead and enjoy the solitude of flipping through CDs and TMs on its dusty shelves. This Friday, however, Liam made his way from White Gardens to the Youth Group apartment at a quick pace. Now that school had started again, the chance to hang out with Vasilio, Taylor and the others seemed more appealing than an evening alone.

After stopping at the Woven Bowl to pick up a Soda Pop, Liam settled down on the bench below the Youth Group, listening the rumbling bass and cacophony of voices coming from above. Liam liked loud music, but he felt like being expected to make conversation over it with people from school would have ruined the effect. He played with his Eevee as he waited for his friends to come down. He was secretly hoping to stall Mori from going home for a bit, and she never could resist the chance to cuddle with his Eevee. After a few minutes, Liam heard the sudden fluctuation in sound that told him someone had opened the door and stepped into the hall.

"I know exactly what you think about me! You're just like everyone else!"

It was Mori's voice, echoing through the stairs leading up to the Youth Group as her feet pounded their way down its flights. Liam wondered whether he was about to witness a replay of his first night outside the Youth Group, but the next voice he heard surprised him.

"Mori, that's not what I meant," said Jonah, whose steps were following close behind her's.

"Yes it is!" shouted Mori, who came bursting through the door to the apartment stairs with Jonah close behind her, "You think all I'm interested in is—"

Mori broke off as she caught sight of Liam sitting on the bench, but her enraged expression didn't change.

"Mori," said Jonah, adopting a serious and gentle tone that surprised Liam, "I just wanted to make sure our relationship wasn't just about—"

"You should know me!" she shouted.

Jonah bit his lip and ran his hand embarrassed through his buzzed black hair. In the awkward silence that followed, Vasilio, Sylvia, and Stephanie appeared behind them in the doorway leading up to the Youth Group building. They all looked anxiously at Mori and Jonah.

"Come on, Liam," said Mori, walking over to him and pulling him to his feet, "Let's go."

Liam glanced back apologetically at his friends as Mori led him away with Eevee in his arms. Vasilio made an effort to follow them, but Mori brushed him off.

"I don't need you," said Mori, coldly.

"Keep her out of trouble," mouthed Vasilio to Liam. He nodded.

Mori's angry strides quickly brought them to the main road in front of New Court, where they caught a taxi. Liam was surprised—but he knew better than to question Mori when she was in a mood like this. Clearly, her usual curfew wasn't going to figure into tonight's plans.

"The track," she told the driver. As they began moving, Mori took her phone out of her jacket and turned it off.

"I don't want to hear from any of them," she muttered. She spent the rest of the ride with her headphones on, staring out the window.

If Liam hadn't been so anxious about getting in trouble from whatever Mori was planning, he would have enjoyed being singled out by her. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as they headed further downtown, admiring the way the glowing signs and street lights reflected in her deep, black eyes. He didn't dare scoot any closer to her in the taxi's back seat, but his Eevee had settled in a cozy nap between them, and Liam felt like that was the next best thing.

After about twenty minutes, the taxi arrived at what Liam at first took to be a traffic jam on a road near Flower and Petal Street. Dozens of cars were stopped at odd angles, blocking traffic on both sides of the street. Liam could hear Pendulum, Justice, and The Prodigy blaring from car speakers and echoing off the nearby buildings, and a few even pulsed underglow lights in time with the beats. To Mori, the situation clearly wasn't unexpected. She paid the driver and, with Eevee in her arms, led Liam casually through the maze of parked cars until they found themselves on a huge stretch of empty street on the other side. They were far from alone; crowds of locals, mostly young men, were already there. Some were exchanging money—others were leaning on their cars with Jadetower cigarettes glowing in their mouths. A few of them wore stylish, tailored suits, but most wore short sleeves or went completely shirtless, showing off their tattoos in the chilly night air.

A few of the locals glanced at Liam, but foreigners clearly weren't as much a novelty here as on a public bus. Just minutes after Liam and Mori arrived, a car with purple underglow blasting a dancy industrial music weaved around the mass of cars and pulled right to the front. Liam thought he recognized the song, and he quickly realized from where when he saw Tobias and three other tall, pale foreigners step out of the car. Tobias wore a dark, velvet suit much like the one from the night Liam had earned his badge, and he gripped a black cane with a handle shaped like a Marowak skull in his left hand.

"Hanako," he said, walking over to them, "I haven't seen you at the track in a long time."

He gave a flowery bow and kissed Mori's hand, which might have made Liam jealous if the act wasn't so over-the-top. To Liam, Tobias merely inclined his head.

"The young Fei told me that you two collected her badge over the Lunar New Year Holiday," continued Tobias, "She made mention of a wicked bird."

"Nin beat her Altaria and evolved," said Mori eagerly. Tobias patted her on the shoulder.

"She told me that as well," he said, looking around the track with his weird gaze, "It should begin soon."

As he spoke, a muscular man in a Team Truth jacket released a Houndoom from a Dusk Ball. The Pokemon let out a howl and sent a jet of flames into the cold night air. As if that were a signal, the mood around them suddenly changed. The exchanging of red bank notes became more urgent. More trainers began sending out Pokemon and mounting them with saddles. A young woman in a tight-fitting Arcanine-print outfit pushed past Liam and Mori and began passing out X-Speeds to the trainers, while a Smeargle painted a starting line across the blocked highway.

"So, it's a Pokemon race?" muttered Liam to Mori.

She merely nodded, her eyes fixed excitedly on the racers and their Pokemon. Looking more closely, Liam noticed that, much like their trainers, most of the Pokemon were tattooed in elaborate patterns. But one Pokemon in particular caught his eye: a Rapidash with a mane and tail of blue-gray fire.

"That's a shiny Rapidash," said Liam in awe, "I've never seen a shiny Pokemon before."

"It belongs to one of the local gangsters," said Mori, pointing to a large man with white hair pulled back into long ponytail, "It's insanely pretty, and insanely fast."

The girl in the Arcanine print outfit had taken her place next to the road with a checkered flag raised in her hand. Behind him, Liam heard the blasting bass and breakbeats from the cars being cranked up even higher. There was a general feeling of rising agitation. Liam felt Mori push his Eevee into his arms, and turned to see that she had somehow acquired a Jadetower cigarette and was trying to light it with trembling hands.

"Are you smoking out of spite?" asked Liam uncomfortably.

"Shut up," she mumbled.

The young woman dropped the flag and the Pokemon took off down the highway as the onlookers roared. The shiny Rapidash quickly took the lead, followed closely by the Houndoom, which had Mega-Evolved as it left the starting line. As they slid around the turn at the far end of the track, a Tauros lost its footing and slammed into the Sceptile next to it, sending both Pokemon and their riders hard into the concrete. The shiny Rapidash and its rider were now firmly in the lead, scorching the asphalt beneath them as they sped back towards the onlookers.

"Um… they're gonna crash right into us," said Liam nervously.

But as he spoke, a Porygon-Z floated to the finish line and the ground beneath it started to shimmer and shuffle, almost like reality itself was being rearranged. As the shiny Rapidash crossed the finish line, it slowed effortlessly from an all-out gallop to a lazy trot.

"Oh," said Liam, feeling a little stupid, "Trick Room."

As the other Pokemon arrived at the finish line, those onlookers that had lost bets passed red notes to the winners, and new bets were quickly made. Liam was surprised to see Tobias collecting a small stack of notes from a tough-looking local man with a Gyarados tattoo on his back. As the Pokemon and their rides lined up for another race, a small commotion behind him caught Liam's attention.

A group of about six Team Power grunts were pushing their way to the track. They wore the same white and gold uniforms with traditional opera masks in grotesque expressions painting on their faces Liam remembered from Jadetower. The local looked as them suspiciously, and Liam noticed Tobias' eyes narrow.

"Team Power," said a mohawked local in a Team Truth jacket, "Who invited you?"

"We're here to race," a young woman's voice, "If that's alright."

The crowd of Team Power grunts parted and a girl of about Liam and Mor's age stepped forward. She had long blonde hair and her face was painted in the dramatic red and green of a reckless stage hero in a Beizo opera. Unlike the grunts, she wore a bandana and jacket—both embroidered with the golden emblem of Team Power. Liam recognized her voice and hair at once: this, clearly, was the Admin that gave the speech at the construction site in Jadetower.

"Curious," said Tobias. He leaned back and gave a strand of his long, white hair a twirl. Liam was surprised that he hadn't sent Team Power running at once, but he was afraid to question him.

The Team Power Admin took a Luxury Ball from her belt and sent out a Zebstrika, Her grunts saddled the Pokemon as she put on black riding gloves and sharp metal spurs. The other racers still looked suspicious, but they allowed her to join the starting line nonetheless. Before she mounted Zebstrika, she fed it an oddly-shaped green berry.

"What was that she gave it? muttered Liam to Mori. She shook her head.

"Salac Berry," said Tobias. He was still peering suspiciously at the Team Power Admin and her Pokemon.

"Um, what does a Salac Berry do?" asked Liam.

"You will see," said Tobias, mysteriously.

The Pokemon and their riders had taken off down the course. This time, however, the atmosphere wasn't just excited—it was hostile. An Oshawott on the sidelines had blasted the Team Power Admin and her Zebstrika with a Water Gun as they left the starting line, and she jostled violently with the other riders as they approached the turn. Zebstrika forced a Sceptile off the track on the sharp u-turn and began the sprint back to the finish line. The shiny Rapidash was still in the lead, but the Admin was spurring her Zebstrika to close the gap.

"Zebstrika," she shouted, "Flame Charge!"

The Zebstrika engulfed itself in fire and slammed into the shiny Rapidash. The Pokemon let out a cry of pain, but the collision only seemed to make Zebstrika faster. As the Admin dug her heels more violently into her Pokemon, Liam noticed the telltale signs of its berry taking effect. The boost in speed was almost violent. The Zebstrika crossed into the Trick Room set up by Porygon-Z a full four meters ahead of Rapidash, but the mood at the finish line wasn't cheerful. The Team Power grunts were arguing fiercely with the local gangsters, who were refusing to pay up. Tobias had walked over to intervene before a fight began. Liam hastily returned Eevee to its Pokeball in case they began hurling Flamethrowers and Hyper Beams at each other.

Liam turned to ask Mori if they could leave, but saw that she wasn't looking at the grunts. She was staring at the face of the Team Power Admin. Paint was dripping from her face from where the Water Gun soaked her, and Liam could see her features much more clearly. She was a foreigner, like them. Her face was proud and contemptuous, but Liam sensed that it was a studied expression rather than a natural one. Her cold, blue eyes passed over Liam with disinterest, but they stopped on Mori with evident (if quickly concealed) surprise. Mori looked back at her with an expression curiously like loathing. The Admin quickly looked away as she dismounted her Zebstrika, but Mori continued to stare at her. Tobias seemed to have calmed the situation between the gangsters and Team Power grunts, but Mori grabbed Liam tightly by the arm and started to lead him back through the jumble of parked cars without waiting to tell the gym leader goodnight.

As they waited for a taxi a few blocks away, Mori turned her cellphone back on. It immediately started buzzing furiously with missed messages and calls, but Mori ignored them. Liam saw her scroll to Vasili's name in her contacts and select "Call."

"Vasi, shut up and listen to me," she began in a panicky voice, "No, I'm fine. I'm with Liam, but just shut up and listen. We saw Claire. Claire was at the track. Yes, that Claire. I know it was her. We looked right at each other. She knew it was me. She was there with Team Power. Vasi, she's one of them."

Liam suddenly understood. Claire—the old principal's daughter, Mori's enemy from middle school—that Claire was the Admin they had seen that night. But was that even possible? Vasilio had told him Claire's family went back to Unova. He was tempted to think Mori was imagining things, but he hadn't imagined that moment of mutual recognition.

"She's like an Admin or something," Mori continued, "She was the one—the one back in Jadetower. I knew it was her voice! I—"

She paused. Liam heard Vasilio's voice over the phone, but he couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Okay, okay," replied Mori, "We'll be back in fifteen minutes. I'll see you at the fountain. Vasi—Vasi, it was her, I know it was. Goodbye."

Mori turned her phone back off an put in back in her jacket.

"Liam," she said, looking at him with the same scared expression he remembered from the night in Prosperity Town, "Can I please have your Eevee."

Liam nodded and hastily released his Pokemon. It crawled almost timidly into Mori's lap, but she embraced it eagerly. She spent the rest of the ride stroking his Eevee's fur in silence.


	33. Chapter 33

When they made it back to the New Court Fountain, they found Vasilio, Taylor, Arthur, and Sylvia waiting there for them. They all looked nervous. Mori walked straight to Vasilio to continue the conversation they had started on the phone back in the taxi.

"Vasi, it was Claire," she said, earnestly, "We were right next to each other. I looked right at her."

"Are you alright?" asked Vasilio. Mori shook her head.

"All we did was go to the track," she protested, "We're fine, we're safe, but Claire is back, and she's—"

"Did you see her, Liam?" asked Vasilio. Liam nodded.

"I mean, I've never seen Claire before now," he explained, "But she was blonde, a foreigner, about our age, and she knew Mori. I could tell from the way her expression changed when she saw her."

"And here I was thinking that hag was gone for good," said Taylor, "But I didn't think she was as bad as this. She's really lost it if she joined up with Team Power."

Sylvia and Arthur glanced at each other.

"I called my dad while we were waiting," said Sylvia, taking a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, "And I asked him if they were looking for anyone from Team Power that matched Claire's description. Sure enough: Suspected Team Power Admin. Unovan, about 16, 1.6 meters in height, blonde hair, blue eyes."

"He's taking a yearbook from last year to one of the witnesses to confirm," added Arthur, "But… I mean, it's gotta be her, right? If she knows Mori."

"You need to get home," said Vasilio to Mori, "I know you're in for it as it is, but it's better if you go back now and tell them everything."

Mori rolled her eyes.

"Look, dude," said Taylor, leaning over slightly to talk to Mori, "I know I'm not even technically supposed to talk to you, but Vasi's right. Go home and tell your dad you were upset because you broke up with Jonah and you're sorry."

Mori sighed, but still looked unconvinced.

"Me and Liam will walk you home," said Vasilio, hopping off the fountain ledge.

"I'll text you guys soon as we hear back from my dad," said Arthur, "C'mon sis, let's get home."

Sylvia, however, was walking over to Mori.

"Mori," she said, very seriously, "I know I spent most of middle school trying to be neutral, but… I'm on your side now, okay? I guess the wannabe dictator finally found some people she could really boss around."

Despite herself, Mori gave a small smile.

"I'll see you on Monday," said Sylvia, and she followed Arthur out the front gate towards the main road.

"Man, screw Team Power," said Taylor, "Team Truth'll trash 'em if they ever come around New Court."

He gave a wink and started off towards his apartment on the other side of New Court.

"He's an idiot," muttered Mori, as she turned to follow Liam and Vasilio towards her apartment building. They walked in silence until they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Mori," said Vasilio, so quietly even Liam could hardly hear him, "Give me your jacket."

"What, why?" said Mori, recoiling slightly.

"Your jacket smells like smoke," said Vasi, "I'll wash it and give it back to you later."

Mori looked at Vasilio in surprise. For just a second, her defensiveness seemed to melt away, but she recovered herself and unzipped her jacket nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry about Jonah," added Vasilio as Mori handed her jacket to him.

She gave a shrug.

"Goodnight, you two," she said as she started up the stairs. They listened until her footsteps faded from hearing, then walked back towards the fountain.

"She's gonna be so grounded," said Vasilio as he set back down on the fountain ledge.

"I'm sorry I didn't really do anything to stop her," said Liam. Vasilio chuckled.

"You can't control Mori," he said, "She dragged you to the track, right?"

"Yeah," said Liam, "Which was really cool and felt really illegal."

"Oh, it's super illegal," said Vasilio, "But, those rich guys that run it have the right guanxi. It gets raided every once in a while, but it always starts up again the next week."

"Tobias was there."

"Yeah, that's not too surprising," said Vasilio, "I know it's different in other regions, but around here, gym leaders take a pretty laid-back approach to keeping the peace. There's a saying in Nanzo: The mountains are high, and the Pokemon League is far away. Tobias will stand up to Team Power when he has to, but… c'mon, the guy's gym in the back of a shop that sells bootleg TMs."

Liam laughed.

"Anyways, I'm glad everything turned out okay tonight," said Vasilio, "At least Mori didn't try anything really stupid. Bumping into Claire was actually lucky for her, since it made her come back."

"Yeah," said Liam. He noticed the light go on in Mori's faraway room, but she didn't come to the window.

"Well, it's almost midnight," said Vasilio, who had also noticed the light, "We better get home. I Am Munchlax are rehearsing at the Garage tomorrow. See you there?"

"I'll think about it," said LIam. Vasilio gave him a flick, hopped off the fountain, and set off towards his own apartment. Liam watched Mori's window until the lights went out, and then walked home with his thoughts full of her.


	34. Chapter 34

"What level is your Eevee, Liam?" asked Mori.

It was Tuesday, and Mori, Liam, Sylvia, and Stephanie were making Pokeblocks in the Berry Blender in Professor Huang's Pokemon Care class. It was a task that required concentration—for Liam, at least—but Mori didn't take it very seriously, especially when they had the steady hands of Stephanie and Sylvia at their table to balance out her mistakes.

"I don't know," said Liam, irritably, "Maybe 15."

"But you've had it for a long time," said Stephanie, adding a berry to the blend with ease and precision.

"Yeah, since I was 10," said Liam, missing the red arrow by a split second as he rushed to add his berry, "But I don't really battle with it much. It's… I guess it's more of a pet."

"But you want it to be an Umbreon," said Mori.

"Yeah, of course."

"Then you should start battling with it again," said Sylvia, "You've been friends with Eevee for five years. It's got to be ready to evolve."

"Why are you all persecuting me about this?" complained Liam as they watched the Blender congeal the Pokeblocks they had just made.

"We're not persecuting you," smiled Stephanie, "We're just looking out for Eevee."

"Look, Liam," said Sylvia, leaning over and adopting the "friendly-yet-authoritative student council secretary" posture she sometimes used with Arthur, "I know there aren't that many chances for a low level Pokemon like Eevee to battle in school. But you should try and take it to one of the local parks. There are lots of more casual trainers you could battle against, and there's still plenty of people hanging around after dark."

"Just don't pick a fight with any of the tiny old grandmas," said Mori, shuddering, "They're merciless."

Professor Huang had walked over to inspect their Pokeblocks. She was a thin woman in her late 30s with shoulder-length curly black hair, and at the moment she had a Mothim perched contently on her left shoulder.

"Looks good," she said, holding up each of their Pokeblock cases in turn and peering at them through her narrow glasses, "Keep these safe; we will feed them to your Pokemon tomorrow."

They began packing up their things. Professor Huang usually let them leave a few minutes early if their work was complete. It was the last class of the day, after all, and most of them had afterschool responsibilities of some kind.

"Cass wants to meet about the Banquet again this afternoon," said Sylvia to Stephanie as she fitted her Pokeblock case snugly into a pouch in her backpack, "So I'll be late for volleyball."

"Right, I keep forgetting that's happening," said Liam, trying to casually insert himself into the conversation.

"You're about the only one in the school, then," said Sylvia, rolling her eyes, "It's still a ways off, though. It's after Village Trip and Field Day."

"That doesn't mean people aren't getting an early start," said Stephanie. Liam noticed that she was blushing slightly.

"You mean besides Liz," said Liam.

Sylvia snorted.

"I have no idea what she sees in that goofball brother of mine," she said, "But yeah, she's not the only one. I've already got a date. So does Stephanie."

Liam's glanced over at Stephanie and his heart sank, but he did his best not to seem hurt by the news. She seemed a little embarrassed by it too, which Liam took as some consolation.

"I'm going with August, from 11th grade," she said, "I'm friends with his younger sister."

"What about you, Sylv?" asked Liam, still trying to seem disinterested

"Caleb—you know, from 10th grade—he asked me last week," said Sylvia, "It was kind of sweet, actually."

"I wonder if they'll even find his body," said Mori. Stephanie looked confused, but Sylvia gave a self-conscious smile.

"I know Caleb wasn't the only guy that wanted to ask me," said Sylvia, "But, he's cool. I'm glad he was the first one."

Liam noticed that Vasilio had finished his Pokeblocks and was listening to the conversation as well.

"Tell you what," said Mori, facetiously, "I'll make up a list for Liam and Vasi of all the females that are still available in this place, and Sylv can calculate the odds you'd have with each girl, and Stephanie can—"

"Thanks," butted in Vasi, "But I think Liam and I are capable of arriving at a decision in the normal way. We're barely halfway through February; I'm not gonna panic yet."

"Well, you better hurry," said Mori, fixing Vasilio in her intense gaze, "Because the odds may be in your favor in 9th grade, but the boys in the other classes have eyes too."

"Who said I had my eyes on anyone in this class?" retorted Vasilio.

"Don't even try that with me," said Mori.

They stared at each other in evident agitation for a moment, but Sylvia quickly sprang into action.

"You guys are still on to play the Banquet, right Vasi?"

"Oh, yeah," said Vasilio, breaking his gaze from Mori and turning to Sylvia, "Taylor's got a lot of cool stuff planned. He just needs to decide which of the things he wants to do we're actually doing."

"Of course," said Sylvia, "Anyways, I gotta run to the meeting. See you guys tomorrow."

As Sylvia left the room, a smirk gradually spread across Mori's face, while Vasilio turned to finish packing his bag with a sour expression on his face.

"Did you just find out now?" asked Mori, leaning over Vasilio with an almost perverse pleasure on her face.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, shoving his notebook and Pokeblock case iritably into his backpack.

"Guess you should have asked her sooner," said Mori. Vasilio shook his head.

"She would have said no," he said, "If she was expecting Caleb to ask her."

"So… what are you gonna do now?" asked Mori. Liam thought there was some hidden meaning in the question.

"I don't know."

Vasilio was staring out the window, conspicuously avoiding Mori's gaze. She turned to Liam and shrugged.

"I'm gonna go to the bus," she said, "You guys can come with me or stay here and mope."

As she left, Ruth finished reviewing her notes from the class and walked over to Liam.

"Grace is very unusual," said Ruth.

"What do you mean?" asked Liam.

"There are so many boys who like her, but she always pushes them away."

Liam looked down at Ruth curiously, but she was still staring at the door where Mori had left. She had a look of pity on her face, but also something else. Liam wasn't sure, but it might have been envy.


	35. Chapter 35

Liam met Vasilio at the New Court Fountain at 7 o'clock that night. Ostensibly, they had arranged the meeting so Vasilio could show Liam around the park behind New Court, but in reality they were both hoping for a chance to talk about Spring Banquet without the girls around. Mori was grounded for the new three weeks, so they didn't have to go through the awkwardness of excluding her from their outing.

"Hey, Vasi," said Liam.

Vasilio gave him a disinterested wave without looking up from his phone. Liam peered over his shoulder curiously and saw that he was texting Rain.

"I'm figuring out who's already got a date for Spring Banquet," explained Vasilio as he typed a message back to Rain.

"I guess she would know," said Liam. Vasilio nodded and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Dude, I really don't know what I'm gonna do now that Sylvia is going with Caleb," said Vasilio as they started towards the back gate of New Court.

"What, you're not gonna ask Mori?" asked Liam, with a slight grin.

"Mori thinks I should ask Mori," replied Vasilio, rolling his eyes, "But I think she wants it for the wrong reasons, so I'm not gonna humor her."

"What do you mean?" said Liam, lowering his voice slightly as they passed Rebecca and Liz stepping out of the foreign PokeMart.

"She thinks the only reason I'm tough on her is that I'm secretly in love with her," said Vasilio, "That I'm trying to control her so I can keep her for myself or something. Which is not true, but she thinks it is. So as much as I would like it…"

He shrugged. They were passing the place where Liam had seen the Team Power graffiti, but it had been painted over with white plaster.

"Do you… uh, do you think I should ask her?" said Liam hesitantly.

"That depends," said Vasilio. On their left, they passed a grubby concrete building full of old people playing mahjong. Liam waited impatiently for his friend to continue.

"On?"

"This is it," said Vasilio. They had rounded a corner and found themselves in a small, old-fashioned community park with a winding concrete pond, leaning willow trees, flowering bushes, and a few stone tables and benches. Despite it being nearly dark, the park was full of people; mostly older people playing chess with wooden coins or performing on traditional instruments, or their grandchildren playing with their Pokemon in the grass.

"You brought your Team Virtue jacket, right?" asked Vasilio.

Liam nodded, taking the green jacket out of his bag and starting to put it on.

"What did it depend on?" asked Liam, as he fumbled with his jacket.

"Well," said Vasilio, looking around to make sure there were no other foreigners in earshot, "If you're mainly interested in staring at Mori in a tight dress for a night and maybe getting to cuddle with her in the taxi on the way back from Banquet, I'd say ask her."

Liam perked up a little, but Vasilio laughed.

"But if you actually want a real relationship, I'd say wait a little before you put yourself in that situation, because I don't think it would lead to anything other than both of you getting hurt."

Liam sighed. Vasilio patted him on the shoulder.

"C'mon, let's do some battles."

As Sylvia had predicted, there were plenty of locals with low-leveled Pokemon ready to challenged Liam, especially when they saw his Team Virtue jacket. A nine-year-old boy in a Team Balance jacket that was much too big for him rushed over to him and challenged him to a double battle. Liam agreed.

"Go," said the boy, "Skitty and Bonsly!"

"Eevee, Kanuna, go!" said Liam.

The battle turned out to be much more like the structured battles they had in Battle Class than the street battles Liam had gotten used to in Nanzo. Still, the kid kept Liam on his toes. Kakuna managed to poison Bonsly on the first turn with Poison Sting, but it still posed a significant threat to both of Liam's Pokemon. In turn three, Bonsly's Rock Throw knocked out Kakuna in a critical hit, leaving Eevee to face the two opponents alone.

"Liam," said Vasilio, "What's the point of catching weak Pokemon if you're not gonna use them?"

Liam realized instantly what he meant. He found the Pokeball containing the Seedot he had captured on their journey and sent out the tiny, acorn-like Pokemon to fight next to Eevee.

"Better than nothing," he mumbled.

Seedot turned out to be much better than nothing. Its moves may have been weak, but unlike Kakuna, it could handle hits from Bonsly. While Eevee slammed into Skitty with Quick Attack and softened Bonsly's blows with Baby-Doll Eyes, Seedot built up its defenses with Harden and struck back at its attackers with Bide. By the time one of Bonsly's Rock Throws finally knocked it out, it had significantly evened the playing field.

Unfortunately, while Bonsly succumbed to poison the next turn and Eevee managed to finish off Skitty with a Quick Attack, the kid had a third Pokemon too: Zubat. With nothing but Supersonic and Leech Life, it made short work of Eevee, but Liam paid out the prize money to the boy without resentment. It had been a fair fight, and the kid's well-balanced team had earned the victory. After a quick trip to the nearby Pokemon center, Liam faced other trainers—first a girl just a few years younger than him, then a schoolboy carrying a Growlithe in his arms. He could almost imagine Werner scolding him for his lack of type coverage as he struggled through each battle, but he also thought that Werner would be pleased with the way he began mentally talking himself through each turn.

After about an hour, Eevee still hadn't leveled up, but Liam was sure it was close. He and Vasilio decided to give it up for the night and head back to New Court. They chose not to go back to the fountain, and instead settled down with their backs against the closed metal door of the Garage, where I Am Munchlax usually practiced. Vasilio took out his phone again and read through the latest message from Rain before rolling his eyes and setting his phone face down in the concrete next to him.

"Rain thinks one of us should ask Ruth," he said, returning unceremoniously to their conversation earlier in the evening.

"I mean, I wouldn't be totally against that," said Liam, petting Eevee thoughtfully, "I like Ruth."

"Yeah, but you'd ask my Smoochum to Banquet if you thought she'd say yes," retorted Vasilio.

"Ruth is not your Smoochum," said Liam, "Anyways, I was just saying I wasn't against it. I'm not about to call her and ask her this minute."

"You can't anyways. You don't have a phone."

"Yeah, and I guess no girl is worth being bothered by people at any hour of the day no matter where you are," said Liam. Vasilio laughed.

"So, taking this a little more seriously," he said, "Who are you actually most interested in asking, besides Stephanie? Not, 'who do you think might say yes,' but who do you actually want to go with?"

"Top 3?" asked Liam.

"You would need to narrow it down to the top 3," snorted Vasilio.

Liam gave an embarrassed shrug.

"I guess without Stephanie, Mori would be top choice," he began, "I mean, she could wear that Cradle of Muk shirt and jeans and she'd still look amazing."

"You'd have to talk to her dad, you know," said Vasilio, "At least on the night of Banquet, if not before you ask her."

"I've never even seen her dad and that sounds terrifying," said Liam, shuddering.

"He's actually not actually that scary," said Vasilio, "At least I don't think so. But he'll ask you things like, 'Are you going to treat my daughter like a gentleman,' and he'll be able to tell if you're lying."

"Yikes," said Liam.

"Anyways, who's number two?"

Liam hesitated. He knew immediately who his choice for number two would be, but it made him feel foolish. He didn't really want to tell Vasilio.

"Why don't you tell me your number one first," said Liam, avoiding Vasilio's eyes.

"Okay," said Vasilio, "Well, I already said I wasn't going to ask Mori, so… I'm gonna say Rebecca. Actually, I've been thinking about asking her ever since Sylvia said she was going with Caleb. I might have to talk to the other guys in the band and see if they can help me out with something."

"I thought you weren't a big fan of asking someone with an over-the-top show," said Liam.

"It's not gonna be an over-the-top show," retorted Vasilio, "I'm going to ask her at practice, where it won't be a show for the whole school."

"Well," said Liam, "If you don't want it to be a show, Taylor and Arthur are probably the last people you want to let in on it."

A swarm of Zubat flittered overhead, making Liam and his Eevee jump slightly.

"Taylor's got his own plans in the works," said Vasilio, leaning his head back on the garage door.

"Really?"

"Haven't you avoided telling me number two for long enough?" said Vasilio, giving Liam a knowing flick.

Liam gave a heavy sigh.

"Look," he began awkwardly. "I know they're be basically no chance of this, but…"

"Yes?" asked Vasilio, leaning closer with an inquisitive look on his face.

"Cass has been really nice to me since I got here," blurted out Liam, but he stopped as Vasilio started laughing.

"Well thanks," said Liam, blushing and crossing his arms.

"Sorry," chuckled Vasilio, "It's just so you to be interested in any girl that so much as smiles at you."

"I didn't say I was interested," protested Liam, although he was blushing slightly, "I'm just saying I think she's nice and going to Banquet with her would be fun. But I know it's not super likely. I've been at Everspring International for like a month. I'm not actually gonna ask the study body vice president."

"Okay, okay," said Vasilio, "So who's three?"

"Ruth," replied Liam, "She's not… super hot, or anything, but she's smart, and brave, and I think she's pretty cool."

"That she is," concurred Vasilio, "And I'm glad at least you can appreciate that."

They watched the Zubat swooping overhead in silence for a few minutes.

"Well, I gotta go home," said Liam, setting Eevee on the ground and pushing himself awkwardly to his feet.

Vasilio stretched and gave Liam a silent wave, but as Liam turned to leave he called after him.

"You can make your own decisions," said Vasilio, looking seriously at Liam, "But don't ask Mori to Banquet. That's my advice as your friend and as someone who knows Mori better than you."

Liam nodded reluctantly.

As Liam passed the New Court Fountain on his way to the complex's south gate, he found Taylor and August, the curly-haired junior that had asked Stephanie to Spring Banquet, sitting on the curb eating shaokao out of a styrofoam to-go box.

"Sup dude," said Taylor, waving a meat skewer at Liam.

"Not much," said Liam, glancing at August and resolving at act as normal as possible, "Me and Vasi were training in the park, trying to get my Eevee to evolve."

The Eevee in Liam's arms purred contently.

"You sure Eevee is ready to evolve?" asked Taylor.

"Well, yeah," said Liam, "I mean, I had it for five years now. It should be ready to evolve."

"That's not what I meant," said Taylor, passing Liam a skewer of grilled mushrooms, "I mean your Eevee is brand new to Nanzo, just like you. Maybe it wants a little time to get used to this place before it evolves. You know, get comfortable in its own fur before it goes through a big change."

"I guess that makes sense," said Liam, offering his Eevee a mushroom, which it devoured eagerly.

"You know, when my family first came here ten years ago, I was so upset I wouldn't eat anything but Unovan food for a whole year," said Taylor, "My mom kept track: I ate 184 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in those first twelve months."

"That's also about how many times you've gone to the shaokao place since January," added August.

"The point is," continued Taylor, "Sometimes people and Pokemon just need time to adjust. Maybe Eevee's just still getting used to livin' here."

"Vee!" piped up Eevee in apparent agreement.

"You headed back to White Gardens?" asked Taylor.

"Yeah," said Liam.

"Well, here's another one for the walk back," said Taylor, offering him a skewer of fatty, well-seasoned meat.

"Dude, stop giving away our second dinner," complained August.

Liam turned down the meat and started making his slow way back to his house in White Gardens. Ahead of him, his Eevee scampered between the orange pools cast by the streetlights and sniffed at trash on the sidewalk. Liam smiled to himself as he watched it. With everything else going on this semester, he realized, evolving Eevee wasn't an urgent priority.


	36. Chapter 36

Despite being Team Virtue's newest member, Liam found himself serving as battle tutor for most of the younger students on Thursday afternoons. To his surprise, they held him slightly in awe as a high schooler, and took his hesitant suggestions and corrections eagerly to heart. When they weren't battling, Werner gave insights into the history and philosophy of Team Virtue.

"The Pokemon trainer commands, the Pokemon obeys," said Werner in his gravelly voice, "Each has their role in the battle, and each role is based on self-discipline. To command wisely is not easy. To follow the commands of others is not easy. Don't rely on your intuition. Leave that to those fools in Team Truth. You can be sure Team Power will rely on strategy rather than their feelings."

Liam usually did his best to let the teachings of Team Virtue shape him, but he quickly realized that Werner could be just as abrasive outside of class as he was in it. His emphasis on proper roles and orderly conduct in battle could seem almost cold, but then Liam would spot the fire in his eyes when he spoke about Team Power's lack of compassion for Pokemon and disdain for weakness, and Liam remembered why he was there.

"Do not despise weakness," Werner told Liam at the end of an afterschool meeting, "I can see that you're unhappy with the weakness you're finding in yourself. Don't let that become contempt for the weakness you find in others. Everyone—every Pokemon, every person—has a proper place and a proper role. No one is unimportant, and no one has finished learning."

Liam saw and heard very little of Team Power during the month of February. About once a week, Arthur or Sylvia would pass on an update from their dad, but it was usually nothing—a brawl with Team Balance, a break-in—never anything as dramatic as burning down Team Truth's headquarters or burying Pokemon alive. So as classes got harder and Liam settled into more of a rhythm outside of school, Team Power occupied less and less of his thoughts.

It was Mori's continued anxiety about Claire that brought Team Power back to mind most often. Since breaking up with Jonah, Mori had started eating lunch with Vasilio and Liam again, and while she mostly grumbled about school and Rain and her parents, the subject of her former classmate occasionally burst out of nowhere.

"I always knew she was evil," Mori muttered one day at lunch.

Liam and Vasilio glanced at each other over their fried noodles.

"Why doesn't it bother either of you that someone from our school is with Team Power?" she asked more pointedly, raising her voice.

Vasilio sighed.

"It does," he said, "But, Mori, we don't really know anything about what Claire's doing with Team Power. Or why."

"I do," said Mori, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"I'm on Mori's side," said Liam, "If Claire joined Team Power, she sounds pretty evil."

"Or she's afraid of something," countered Vasilio, "Or she's been lied to. We don't know."

Mori rolled her eyes.

"Still taking her side after everything," she mumbled.

"I'm not taking her side," said Vasilio, setting his chopsticks down with an abruptness that showed he was less calm than he tried to appear, "I'm just interested in a more complex answer than 'she's evil.' I know she's arrogant. And a bully. And she likes to boss others around. But I'm not sure that all that adds up to someone willing to bury weak Pokemon."

Mori scowled. With a shrug, she passed her unfinished noodles to Liam and left their table.

"Thanks," mumbled Liam to Mori, but she ignored him.

As Liam and Vasili walked back towards the school after lunch, they heard someone call out to them. They turned to see Rebecca, Ruth, and Liz stepping out of the nearby corner store with ice cream in their hands. To Liam's confusion, Liz and Ruth were almost dragging Rebecca over to Vasilio. Looking part embarrassed and part exasperated, she struggled free of her friends' grip, took a deep breath, and looked Vasilio straight in the eye.

"Yes," she said.

Vasilio nodded seriously. For a moment, he and Rebbeca stared at each other in awkward silence. Then grins broke across both of their faces, and Rebecca gave a snort.

"How did you get that note into my violin case anyways?" she asked.

"I got some help from—"

"Taylor's Simipour? I was wondering why it was hanging around at practice yesterday."

Vasilio nodded.

"When did you, uh, find the note?" he asked.

"Half an hour ago," said Liz, laughing, "She keeps her lunch money in her case like a weirdo."

"Shut up!" said Rebecca, although she was still smiling, "So, Vasi, I was thinking about… blue. You know, for my dress and your tie. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," said Vasilio.

"Aww, like his eyes," teased Liz, putting her hands on her cheeks and popping her foot. Rebecca shot a murderous glance back at her. Liam couldn't be sure, but he thought Vasilio might have blushed.

"Come on guys, let's get back to school before Coach Tang yells at us," said Rebecca, meaningfully. With Liz and Ruth still giggling behind her, Rebecca led Vasilio and Liam around the corner and back towards the school's main gate.

To their surprise, they found Mori, along with a crowd of other students, standing outside the school's arched main gate with large paper flyers in their hands.

"Join Team Power," read Jonah, cocking an eyebrow, "Are these guys serious?"

"Somebody pasted these all around the front gate," said Sylvia, giving one each to Vasilio, Liam, and Rebecca. Mori hadn't looked up from her own flyer, which she was reading with trembling hands.

"Do they really think we would?" asked Liam, tearing up his flyer at once, "How stupid do they think we are?"

"They do not want us to join," said Ruth, who had picked up a flyer off the ground.

"What do you mean?" asked Liam.

"They are trying to frighten us," explained Ruth, "Remind us that they are nearby, even if we cannot see them."

"Some of the younger students are very scared," said Stephanie.

"I don't blame them," said Sylvia, glancing at Mori, "My dad texted me about an hour ago. They—uh, Team Power—they burned down Team Balance's HQ in Hempshear last night."

"Dang," said Jonah. Mori silently crumpled her flyer and began walking over to the dumpster. Following her with his eyes, Liam noticed that Werner was looking at them from inside the school gate. He had his arms crossed, and he wore an expression Liam thought might be fury. He spotted Liam and beckoned him over to him.

"This is the second time they've come this close to the school," said Werner, in an urgent whisper, "It's vitally important that you all stay together and keep your eyes open."  
"Why do they care about this place?" asked Liam, "There's only foreigners here."

"I think your class's escapades in Jadetower may have something to do with it," said Werner, with something almost like a smile, "Otherwise, it's nothing too special. They know there are strong trainers here. And not just the teachers. If they want to rule Nanzo, they'll have to deal with us at some point."

Werner's eyes glinted fiercely.

"Is that what they want?" asked Liam, "To rule Nanzo?"

"It's what they wanted before," said Werner, "More importantly, they want to drive the Pokemon League out of Nanzo, so they don't have to play by its rules."

"So. what will they do next?"

Werner shook his head.

"They've been quiet for a long time. There's one last building in Nanzo they may want to burn down, then after that… who knows."

Professor Wort and Miss Snyder arrived and began collecting the flyers from the students.

"I hope you all know better than to pay any mind to these," said Wort in his low, firm voice. He carried the stack of papers to the dumpster, passing Mori sitting next to it, looking at the ground.

"Are you alright, Ms. Shaw?" asked Wort.

"Claire did this," she said, without looking up. The other students looked closely at Wort, wondering how he would respond. The rumor that Claire had joined Team Power had traveled through the whole school, but so far as Liam knew, no teacher had verbally acknowledged it.

"That seems a reasonable hypothesis," said Wort, simply, "Let's keep an eye out for her. There are a lot of questions she needs to answer for us."

Mori nodded fervently.


	37. Chapter 37

"Hi Liam!"

The voice at Liam's ear made him jump and nearly drop his notebook. At the locker next to him, Stephanie did her best conceal a small smirk as she put away her history textbook.

"Why do you like giving me a heart attack?" complained Liam as he closed his messy locker as quickly as possible and turned to face Cass.

"It was so much fun the first time I can't stop," said Cass as she fumbled with the dial on her locker, "You should try it sometime."

"Wait and see if I vote for you next year," said Liam sullenly.

"Oh, I don't know if I'm going to run for next year," said Cass as she put away a notebook in her brightly-decorate locker, "I mean, it's not that I haven't liked being vice president this year, and if people want me to—but I've already got so much to do this semester without doing a whole campaign, what with Youth Group, and Banquet, and—"

"Are you going to Banquet with anyone?" asked Liam as casually as possible.

"Oh no," said Cass, closing her locker and beginning to walk with Liam down on the hall in her usual unsteady gait, "I'm not planning to anyways. I'm gonna be so busy making sure everything works just right, and managing transitions, and I don't really want Arthur to have to help because he's gonna be busy with his girlfriend—with Liz, I mean—and I know Sylvia is going to want to help, but—"

"Sounds to me like you're doing too much," put in Liam. Cass shook her head.

"I like being busy. And I like doing things for other people. And I don't mind that I have to give up some things to do that. We've got a lot of burdens on us—you know, as TCKs—so if I can make it easier for everyone else, I like to do that."

"So, if you like helping others so much, why wouldn't you run next year?" asked Liam.

Cass paused thoughtfully outside Professor Rollon's English classroom.

"I want to be able to focus on my job now without worrying about whether I'll still have it next year," she said at last, "And honestly. I'm worried that I'm going to end up competing with Sylvia for president. Last year I didn't really have to run against anyone. Someone just told me they thought I should run and I did, and almost everyone voted for me. But, actually having to give a speech about why people should vote for me instead of Sylvia…"

"What if you stayed as vice president?"

"My friends really want me to run for president," she explained, "And I'm sure there's someone else that would want to run for vice president, and I wouldn't want to be in their way. I guess I just want to be a politician without the politics."

Cass gave a shrug.

"With Youth Group it's a lot easier. You just say 'I want to help' and they'll give you something to do. I like that better."

"Well," said Liam, "Everyone thinks you're a really good vice president."

"Thanks," said Cass, "Ooh, by the way, you haven't come to hang out with us before Youth Group in a long time. You should come with us again this week."

"I'll think about it," said Liam, nodding at Mori as she pushed past him on the way to Pokemon Care class.

"Oh, come on," laughed Cass, "I know that's a Liam no. I'll buy you a milkshake if I get a Liam yes."

Liam shifted on his feet.

"Okay, I'll come," he said, but before he could say anything else Cass pulled him into a quick (but very tight) hug. He did his best not to show how secretly pleased he was.

"See you Friday," said Cass, as Rollon, the young, stocky literature teacher with spiky hair, waved her into in classroom in mock irritation.

"Go to class!" Rollon shouted at Liam playfully.

Liam barely made it through the door of Professor Huang's classroom as the bell rang. To his surprise, he found the flower-pattern curtains to the small, cozy classroom drawn and the lights turned off. His classmates were looking at a Bouffalant that was pacing the room uneasily, twitchtly slightly as it bumped lightly into chairs and desks. Professor Huang put a finger over her lips and beckoned Liam over.

"This Pokemon," she explained to the group in a low voice, "Has been mistreated by its trainer in the past. It has been hurt people, and it does not trust them. As trainers, you will need to work with Pokemon even when they do not want to work with you."

The Bouffalant snorted and looked at them suspiciously, shifting its weight from hoof to hoof. Liam looked back at the Pokemon nervously. He knew intellectually that Professor Huang wouldn't be letting the Bouffalant wander the room if it was any danger to them, but it was much larger than any Pokemon he had ever handled.

"Your class will care for this Pokemon," continued Professor Huang, "But, to do that, you need to earn its trust."

They all glanced instinctively at Stephanie. This was usually the kind of thing she was good at. She took a deep breath and met the Pokemon's eyes with hers.

"Is it alright if I come closer?" she asked. The Bouffalant gave a twitch and stamped uneasily.

"It's better if we don't crowd it," Stephanie said, "I will see if I can approach."

She took a step forward. Liam secretly felt that if he were a Pokemon, a girl with Stephanie's beautiful green eyes, bright smile, and chestnut hair would have no trouble approaching him. But as Stephanie took another cautious step towards the Bouffalant, it snorted and tossed its head aggressively. Stephanie stepped back and sighed.

"Someone else want to try?" she asked. There was a hint of frustration and self-disappointment in her voice.

"I will," said Rain. She stretched out her left hand towards the Pokemon.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Rain. May I be your friend?"

It may have been that Mori was starting to rub off on him, but Liam thought Rain's friendliness seemed a little fake. The Bouffalant clearly shared Liam feelings. It gave a firm stomp that made Rain jump and scurry back to the rest of the group.

"Oh my gosh," sad Rain, pushing a strand of her dyed auburn hair out of her face, "He's not very friendly."

They all glanced around at each other uncomfortably. It seemed clear that no one wanted to try their luck against the huge and jittery Pokemon, especially if it hadn't taken to Stephanie. After a minute or so of awkward silence, Mori rolled her eyes. With an exasperated look, she grabbed a chair and sat down next to Bouffalant with her arms crossed. The Pokemon twitched and scraped the classroom's tile floor with it hooves, but made no aggressive moves towards Mori. Looking away from the Pokemon, Mori began to talk in a low voice.

"I'm Mori. I'm like you. Someone decided they didn't care enough about me to take care of me, and I don't know why. I know it's not easy to trust anyone after being let down like that, and it's hard because people keep letting you down every time you trust them. I'm not asking you to trust me. I know you're not ready for that. But I want you to know that you didn't deserve to be treated badly. It's not right. Good people don't treat Pokemon like that."

They all watched with surprise at Mori spoke. It was unusual for her to open up like that to anyone, much less in front of the entire class while sitting next to a large, dangerous Pokemon. The Bouffalant stood motionless at first, but after Mori stopped talking it turned slowly until it was looking straight into her eyes.

"Bouf…" lowed the Pokemon, shaking its curly head with a rustling sound. It still seemed uncertain about Mori, but it wasn't anxiously pawing the tile floor like it had when Stephanie and Rain had tried to approach. Mori smiled at the Pokemon, but kept her arms crossed over her chest.

"Me and my friends want to take care of you," continued Mori, "But we're not gonna make you do anything you don't want. Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?"

After some hesitation, the Pokemon gave another low "Bouf" and nodded its large head.

"My friend Liam is going to bring you some water," said Mori.

After a small nudge from Vasilio, Liam walked over to the water cooler and filled a large metal bowl with water. Walking slowly and carefully, Liam set the bowl in front of the Bouffalant, who began to lap up with water with his eyes fixed suspiciously on Liam. Liam started to walk back to the group, but Mori called him back.

"Liam is going to sit down next to me," said Mori, "Is that alright?"

The Bouffalant nodded, and Liam picked up a chair and sat down next to Mori. With the Bouffalant's huge, fluffy head just a few inches from his face, Liam's nostrils filled with its shaggy, earthy smell. As it finished drinking, it fixed its gaze suspiciously on Liam.

"Bouffalant, can I ask you a question?" said Mori in the same low, calm voice.

"Bouf…" replied the Pokemon. Mori seemed to take it as a yes.

"Was your old trainer part of Team Power?" asked Mori.

The Bouffalant pawed the title floor in agitation and tossed its fluffy head.

"The way Team Power treats Pokemon is wrong," said Mori, "Isn't that right, Liam?"

The Bouffalant snorted.

"Yes," said Liam nervously, "I mean, every Pokemon should be loved and taken care of by its trainers. Pokemon aren't just important because they're strong, or because they win battles. They, well…"

He trailed off and glanced back at Mori.

"Bouffalant," said Mori, leaning towards the Pokemon and fixing it with her intense gaze, "Did your old trainer have a nickname for you?"

Bouffalant looked nervously around at the other students, then nodded slowly.

"Are you… Anastasia?" asked Mori, speaking so slowly and quietly even Liam could barely hear.

"Bouf!" bellowed the Pokemon, and it began clacking its hooves angrily on the tiles. Liam started to feel very unsafe in front of its very large head. At her desk, Professor Huang stood up and reached for a Pokeball. Liam noticed his classmates' eyes widen in shock. Ruth bolted out of the room, Sylvia, Stephanie, and Rain began whispering to each other earnestly. Jonah alone seemed to share Liam's confusion.

"Bouffalant," said Mori, raising her voice, "Bouffalant, it's okay. I won't call you that if you don't like it."

The Bouffalant was shorting heavily and pawing the ground, as if about to charge.

"Mori," said Liam anxiously, "Maybe we should—"

But Mori was kneeling down in front of the Bouffalant and putting her small hands on its fluffy, dark brown head.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sorry, I know it hurts."

The Pokemon froze. Professor Huang had the Pokeball in her hand, ready to recall it, but Mori was embracing Bouffalant with tears in her eyes.

"You're not trash," she sobbed, "It doesn't matter what she thinks. We're not trash."

Professor Huang called the Bouffalant back to its Pokeball, leaving Mori alone on the floor with silent tears sliding down her face. Vasilio and Jonah rushed forward to help Mori back into her seat.

"I'm okay, you idiots," she mumbled. Professor Huang crouched next to Mori and stroked her black hair soothingly.

"I am sorry I didn't tell you from the beginning," she said, "I wanted to give you the chance to approach it as an ordinary Pokemon."

"Tell us what?" asked Jonah.

"It's Claire's Bouffalant," explained Rain, "She was here last year, before you came."

"I can't believe I didn't recognize her," said Sylvia, "I guess Claire always had her wearing a bow. Professor Huang, why do you have Anastasia?"

Professor Huang stood up and helped Mori to her feet.

"The Pokemon that Team Power abandoned got sent to the Pokemon Orphanage, outside Azurite Town," explained Professor Huang, "You all will be going there on the Village Trip later this spring. It's overcrowded and they need help. The head of the Orphanage lent Anastasia to me, and a few other Pokemon, to help you prepare for your work there."

"And one of them just happened to be Claire's Bouffalant?" asked Sylvia, adjusting her round glasses skeptically.

"Yes," said Professor Huang, simply, "I think your class would be the best ones to take care of it."

The door creaked open and Ruth stepped timidly back into the room.

"Are the other Pokemon they gave you also Claire's?" asked Vasilio.

"No. But most of them are from the Jadetower construction site that you saved."

Professor Huang flashed an understanding smile at Ruth, who looked like she had been crying. Liam remembered the way Ruth had charged out to face Team Power. She, not they, had saved them.

"Why don't you practice your massaging techniques for the rest of the class," said Professor Huang, returning to her desk, "You can work with Anatasia more tomorrow."

Liam watched Mori carefully on the bus ride home from school that day. She seemed completely fine, despite having broken into tears in the middle of class, but what she had said to the Bouffalant made Liam curious. When the seat next to Mori opened up, Liam sat down as casually as possible and tried to get her attention.

"What?" asked Mori, taking off her headphones irritably.

Liam shrugged, doing his best to look like he was making innocent conversation.

"Is this about class?" said Mori, pointedly, "Because I don't really wanna talk about that."

"Oh," said Liam, running a hand awkwardly through his light brown hair, "Sorry."

"Just spit it out," grumbled Mori, giving Liam a very hard flick on his shoulder.

"So Claire…" began Liam, awkwardly, "She… she wasn't very nice to you."

"She hates me and I hate her, if that's what you're asking," said Mori, blowing a strand of black hair out of her face.

"Yeah, well… why?"

Mori rested her arms on the back of Liam's seat and leaned closer.

"Because," said Mori, "She thinks she's perfect, and she thinks everyone else should be too. She thinks she knows what's wrong with me and if I would just listen to her, everything would be fine. She told me nobody would like me the way I was, and did her best to make sure it was true. She told everyone she knew that I was a bad influence, that all I cared about was boys, that I wasn't pretty—"

"Really?" asked Liam incredulously.

"Liam, don't try it," said Mori, rolling her eyes, "I know you think all girls are pretty."

Liam blushed slightly and glanced out the bus window to avoid Mori's intense gaze..

"In 8th grade, I started to fight back. And it got really bad. I mean really, really bad. She told her dad to keep an eye on me because I was a "slut," and that eventually got around to my dad, of course. She Rattata'd me out for basically everything. And she started leaving notes in my locker. She tried to make it look like they were from other people, but I know they were from her."

"What did they say?"

Mori unzipped her Gengar backpack and pulled out a small, black notebook. Holding it carefully so Liam couldn't see its contents, she flipped to a page about a third of the way through and began reading with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Stop dressing like a freak to beg for attention... You don't have any real friends, just people who feel sorry for you... You're ruining Taylor's life by hanging out with him… Everyone knows they can't trust you to keep their secrets."

Liam was listening to the words in near disbelief. Without looking up at him, Mori took a deep breath and read the last line with slow, painful enunciation.

"Your real parents threw you away, and I bet your fake parents wish they could too."

The bus was pulling up to the New Court stop. Mori snapped the small notebook shut and stuffed it back in her backpack. Her sudden movement shook Liam out of his shocked silence.

"Mori!" called Liam after her, "W-why do you keep all that written down?"

But she had slipped out of the bus without a backward glance.


	38. Chapter 38

Liam sat on the edge of the empty fountain in New Court with Sneasel perched alertly on his shoulder. It was Friday, and he had been waiting for Cass and the other Youth Group leaders for about half an hour. They weren't late; Liam was early, but he didn't mind. It had been a long week, and he had a lot to think about.

In homeroom that morning, Professor Rollon had passed out two sheets of paper: a permission slip for the high school Village Trip (scheduled for the beginning of April), and a sign-up form for the school Pokelympics. Liam realized he probably should have picked out a few events a long time ago, but had been distracted: first by pretty girls, then by Team Power, then by pretty girls and Team Power. There were a few things he had to do: as the only underclassman in Team Virtue, he needed to represent them in doubles. Coach Tang also required every student in battle class to participate in singles, so this would be his big chance to finally beat Rain. But besides that, there wasn't much Liam was interested in: he didn't have anything to ride in the Pokemon race, none of his team were particularly suited to surfing, and triples and inverse battles made his brain hurt. He thought about entering his Murkrow in a sky battle, but the thought of being clobbered by Sylvia's Braviary quickly dampened the appeal.

Ultimately, Liam had signed up his Eevee for the Pokemon Contest. He knew they stood no chance of winning, but it sounded like less work. Plus, with Professor Huang as a judge, it wouldn't be too humiliating either.

"Yo, Liam."

Liam looked up from his reverie to see Taylor walking towards him with his guitar on his back and his long black hair hanging damp on his shoulders.

"Did you just take a shower?" laughed Liam.

"Mom made me," he grumbled, "Guess I'm the first one here."

Liam nodded.

"It's a lot of people today," said Taylor, looking around him, "Youth Group's got worship night, so all the musicians got dragged in. Arthur and Sylvia are supposed to meet us there, but we've gotta wait for Liz, August, Rebecca, Parker…"

"Does Vasi ever play in the worship band?" asked Liam.

"Nah," said Taylor, "We got too many guitar players and bass players. You don't play the drums, by any chance?"

Liam shook his head.

"Drummers we're usually short on," continued Taylor, scratching Liam's Sneasel behind the ear, "August's gonna do it tonight, though, so we're covered. I tried to teach Simipour, but that monkey has no hand-eye coordination."

"Hey guys!"

It was Liz, dressed in her usual cardigan, accompanied by Rebecca holding her violin case under her arm. August and Parker, a tall senior from Ferrum with a serious face and square glasses, followed shortly after them.

"Cass is eating with us too, right?" asked August.

"Yeah," said Taylor, "Here she comes. Late, as always."

He pointed off to his left, where Liam saw Cass hobbling towards them. As usual, she was wearing such a hodgepodge bright colors that even Liam, who had no sense of fashion, knew she was clashing. As she made her way slowly to the fountain, Taylor and Liz began a comic reenactment of the stomp-stomp-clap that broke out whenever Cass faced anyone in Battle Class.

"I would think you guys would be more patient with me," laughed Cass, "Nanzo is not very disability accessible."

She was breathing heavily when she reached the fountain and had to lean on Rebecca for a moment to steady herself.

"Am I the last one?" she asked.

"Yep," said Taylor, starting in the direction of New Court's south gate, "Even Liam got here before you, and he doesn't even go to Youth Group."

"Well, now that I am here, I'd like to get first dibs on a song request," said Cass, cheerily, "Can you play that 'minstrel' one? I forget who it's by."

"It's by Cartel," said Taylor as they started crossing the busy street between New Court and the Woven Bowl, "And it's not a street song, so it requires a tip."

"I can take care of it," said Liam, quickly.

Taylor smiled knowingly.

"I'm not gonna have time to play anything anyways," he said, "We've still gotta run through the whole setlist for the night at the Youth Group building. Robert's lending us his fog machine, and Liz needs a place to plug in her keyboard. We're basically gonna eat and run."

"Ooh, then can we eat upstairs?" asked Cass.

The others agreed. Ahead of them, they found Sylvia and Arthur waiting on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Liam nodded awkwardly to his classmate, who leapt up to help Cass onto the curb.

"Thanks Sylv," said Cass, smiling. Liam realized uncomfortably that Sylvia had spotted a need that he hadn't even noticed, because, as usual, he was caught up in his own thoughts. He had never thought Sylvia's playful dark eyes and toothy smile were as attractive as Vasilio did, but he had to admit that he admired her presence of mind when it came to others.

The usual Friday night crowd of foreign families was downstairs, so Liam was glad Cass had suggested sitting on the quieter second floor. As they crowded around one of the larger tables, a Drifloon with a weirdly crooked tilt to its hover brought them their menus before drifting silently back downstairs.

"So," said Liam to Cass in a low voice, "All the Pokemon and people that work here have disabilities, right?"

"Yep!" said Cass, who was looking hungrily at the menu.

"Uh, maybe this is a weird question," he continued, "But… how do Pokemon, uh, get hurt, like that? I mean, I've never seen a Pokemon get injured so badly that a Pokemon Center couldn't heal them."

"Some of them are born like that," explained Cass, "Kinda like me, I guess. You know the deaf Vigoroth that works here? It was born deaf, so sign language is its first language—isn't that cool? Oh, and sometimes it's accidents, too, like getting hit by a car. I bet that's what happened to that poor Drifloon—big cities can be really dangerous places to Pokemon that aren't used to them. The worst is when it's mistreatment by people, though. People will do things to Pokemon that other Pokemon just can't."

Liam was reminded of Claire's Bouffalant and the way it pawed the floor skittishly when people were around.

"I think it's really cool that they have places like this where Pokemon can work, even when most people would think they're broken or useless. Especially in Nanzo. Disability makes people uncomfortable here—haven't you noticed how they're aren't many people our age with wheelchairs or crutches? It's because they're all at home—they're not allowed to go outside. But here, there's a place they can be important for who they are. The world needs places like that."

"Is it different, back in Unova?" asked Liam, "I mean, I know I'm technically Unovan, but I've never really lived there."

"Well, people don't stare at me," said Cass, "As much. And they have ramps and elevators so I don't have to go up so many stairs. And that's nice. I've tripped on stairs so many times in the past two years—I'm so lucky I haven't broken anything. Sometimes, I get really lazy and just ride my Donphan up the stairs to my house."

Liam snorted at the mental picture of Cass riding her Donphan up a flight of stairs as the waitress arrived to take their orders. At August's insistence, Liam decided to try the bibimbap, and when it arrived, he was very glad he did. It turned out to be a stone bowl filled with rice, vegetables, and meat topped with a fried egg and a delicious red sauce. Sneasel liked it just as much as he did, and as Liam scraped the last of the rice from the bottom of the bowl, Sneasel sat on his shoulder munching contentedly.

"You should come to Ferrum some time if you like bibimbap so much," said Rebecca.

"Are we really gonna start this?" asked Arthur, "Because, uh, Nanzo's food is way better than Ferrum's food, and that's just a fact."

"Excuse me?" said Parker, adjusting his glasses dangerously.

"I'm just saying, one of our cultures has the best street food in the entire world, and that culture isn't yours," said Arthur matter-of-factly, as his sister rolled her eyes.

"Ah, shoot," interrupted Taylor, who was checking his phone, "Gotta save the fight for later, guys. Robert's outside of the Youth Group with the fog machine. We gotta go let him in."

Following Taylor's lead, the others hastily picked up their instruments and coats and headed noisily downstairs, leaving Cass and Liam almost alone on the second floor with their empty plates and half-finished drinks.

"Let's switch to another table," said Cass, almost sheepishly, "I feel like an idiot sitting at that huge table with just us."

Liam agreed, and followed her to a small table for two next to the window.

"Hey," said Liam, suddenly remembering, "Don't you owe me a milkshake?"

"Oh, right," laughed Cass, "I forgot I had to bribe you into coming here. Drifloon!"

The balloon-like Pokemon floated towards them, leaning heavily to one side. Sneasel peered at it suspiciously.

"Can we get two chocolate milkshakes?" she asked with a smile.

"Floon," cooed the Pokemon, and it floated off in the direction of the downstairs kitchen.

"Are you sure it can tell them our order?" asked Liam, looking after the balloon Pokemon with concern.

"Oh, definitely," said Cass confidently, "Have you never worked with Pokemon before? I mean, as a job? I worked at a summer camp in Unova last year and one of my coworkers was a Lombre. I don't know how, but when people and Pokemon work together, you just start to understand each other. Lombre walked up to me one time and all it said was 'Lommm,' but I knew it was telling me that one of the kids wanted to call her mom and needed permission. I don't know how, I just understood him perfectly, just like he was a person."

"That's… kinda weird, honestly," said Liam, playfully.

"Can't you tell what Sneasel is saying to you?" asked Cass, winking.

"Sometimes," said Liam, glancing at the Pokemon perched on his shoulder, "Right now, I think he wants to pounce on that Drifloon."

Sneasel growled sullenly.

"Going back to earlier," said Cass, learning forward confidentially, "How long have you lived in Unova. Like, in total?"

Liam sighed and bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Maybe three or four years at most," he said at last, "I moved to Johto when I was two, and we've never been back for more than a few weeks at a time since."

"Okay, so not that different from me," said Cass, "My family moved to Sinnoh when I was five, then we moved to Liontide City when I was nine, then back to Sinnoh three years later, then to here almost two years ago now. My dad's with the Unovan consulate, so we don't really get to pick when and where we move. We tried to go back to Unova every summer, but it didn't work out half the time—you know, you get settled in, and just when the new place starts to feel like home, you don't really want to leave, especially to visit somewhere that isn't really…"

She trailed off.

"Home?" asked Liam.

"Yeah," said Cass, "Whatever that means."

A Hitmonchan had arrived with their milkshakes balanced on a round tray.

"See," said Cass, as the Pokemon set the tray down carefully in front of them, "I told you they would understand."

"Guess you were right," said Liam, "But you're still paying for mine, so I'm still the winner."

"I didn't know we were picking a winn—did you hear that?"

Liam heard it. The thumps and rumbles of a Pokemon battle—and a rough one, at that—had suddenly started shaking the entire building. Liam turned quickly to look out the window, and what he saw made his stomach drop and his heart pound painfully fast.

"It's Team Power," he said.

Cass saw it too. Leaving their milkshakes untouched, Liam and Cass jumped up from their table and rushed downstairs. Pushing past the staff and diners, they almost barreled out of the Woven Bowl's main entrance. What they found outside nearly made Cass scream.

Two younger Pokemon trainers—Liam recognized them as the red-haired 8th grader Chelsea and her friend Marsha—were cowering before a group of five Team Power grunts with painted faces and white and gold uniforms. One of the grunts was crushing a Scraggy beneath his boot as the others laughed. Liam recognized him at once, even through the face paint: he was the lead grunt from back in Jadetower, the one they had fought against to stop the Pokemon from being buried alive in the construction site.

"Get away from that Pokemon!" shouted Cass, as she staggered to Chelsea's side and helped her to her feet. The grunt sneered and kicked the Scraggy's limp body towards them.

"Weak Pokemon and weak people," he said, looking contemptuously at Cass, "This place is hardly worth our time."

"Then maybe you should move along," said Liam through gritted teeth. The Sneasel on his shoulder snarled viciously as the Team Power grunts laughed.

"Liam," said Cass, "Let's teach them a lesson."

Her eyes had a fire in them Liam had never seen before. She shifted her weight and slunk down into the battle stance Liam had seen many times in Battle Class.

"This shouldn't take long," said the grunt, as he and the others prepared to send out their Pokemon.

"Don't hold back," whispered Cass, "They won't play fair."

"Believe me, I know," said Liam, "Go, Sneasel!"

"Electabuzz, let's show these punks!" shouted Cass.

"Go, Sudowoodo! Octillery, get 'em!" chorused the grunts.

"Machamp!" sneered their leader, "Crush 'em."

With a cacophony of snarls, growls, and roars, the two lines of Pokemon charged. Liam, who starting to get used to the chaotic and dangerous nature of street battles after his experience in Jadetower, immediately ducked to avoid an Octazooka that covered the ground behind him in black ink. His Sneasel took full advantage of its stealth and agility to weave between the slower, larger Pokemon while slashing them with powerful Metal Claw and Faint Attacks. Cass's Electabuzz, meanwhile, pummeled the enemy Pokemon and paralyzed them with electrical blasts. Liam knew Cass was a strong trainer, but her unbridled ferocity took him by surprise—and he wasn't alone. As Thunderbolts and Focus Blasts sent their Pokemon flying across the concrete, several of the grunts were taking nervous steps back. Only their leader stood his ground, shouting commands as his Machamp faced down Cass's Electabuzz one-on-one.

"You're not bad for a cripple," he said mockingly.

"And you're not bad," retorted Cass, "For a thug that picks on children."

With a final blast of electrical energy, Electabuzz knocked Machamp off its feet, leaving it sprawled on the ground in front of its trainer in a dead faint. Sneasel, meanwhile, finished off an enemy Haunter with a vicious Faint Attack. The lead grunt reached for another Pokeball, but the grunts behind him were already recalling their fainted Pokemon and starting to run. With one last contemptuous sniff at Cass, the leader turned to follow his comrades as quickly as he could.

Without thinking, Liam and his Sneasel took off after them. They were headed for the neighborhoods behind the Woven Bowl, clearly intending to disappear into the maze of apartments and side streets. Sprinting as fast as he could, thinking only of wiping the smug expression off the leader's face, Liam nearly knocked over an old man on a bicycle as he rounded a corner. Next to him, Sneasel was loping on all fours, its eyes fixed keenly on its fleeing prey. About twenty meters ahead, Liam saw the grunts starting to climb over a metal side gate leading into an apartment complex. Realizing this was his only chance, Liam bounded recklessly forward. He was going to get them. They wouldn't get away.

"Liam!"

It was Cass's voice echoing from far behind him, and there was something in it that gave Liam chills. It wasn't just fear, or panic; it was genuine terror. Liam skidded to a halt and watched as the members of Team Power dropped down and disappeared on the other side of the gate. With a furious groan, he recalled Sneasel and rushed back to the Woven Bowl, where he found Cass, Chelsea, and Chelsea's friend bending over the fainted Scraggy, desperately trying to revive him.

"He's not breathing," sobbed Chelsea, "Help, please, someone—"

"Liam!" shouted Cass as she saw him, "Take Scraggy to the Pokemon center on the other side of New Court and be as quick as you can."

She lifted the Pokemon off the ground and pushed it into his arms. Liam looked at her with confusion.

"Go!" she said urgently, "You'll get there much faster without me! I'll bring Chelsea. Hurry!"

Liam nodded and took off as fast as he could towards New Court. Through the haze of anger, fear, and panic, Liam wasn't sure how he crossed the big street in front of New Court and didn't remember passing the fountain or the tall pink apartments at all. The next thing he knew, he was in the Pokemon center between New Court and the shao kao spot, pushing the Scraggy into the arms of a very confused Pokemon nurse.

"Please," said Liam, panting, "He's very badly hurt, you have to—."

The nurse looked down at the Scraggy in shock. With trembling hands, she set the Pokemon's motionless body gently down on the counter and started to examine it. After feeling its neck for a pulse, she leaned down until her face was actually touching the Pokemon's chest and listened. Liam watched her closely. There was a long, tense silence.

"I'm sorry," she said, straightening up, "There is nothing we can—"

"No!" shouted Liam, "No, you have to help him! You have to—!"

The Pokemon nurse gave a concerned look to the Chansey behind the counter, which came over and guided Liam into a seat while the nurse walked the lifeless body of the Pokemon back into the center. Liam sat with his head in his hands as his heart pounded.

Chelsea arrived just two minutes after Liam had. She and Cass staggered to the counter without glancing at him and went straight to the nurse behind the reception counter.

"My Scraggy," said Chelsea, "Someone just brought it here. It was—."

The Pokemon nurse knelt down to put herself at Chelsea's eye level and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said seriously, "When your Scraggy was brought in, it was already…"

Chelsea let out a scream and collapsed to the floor.

The rest was a blur to Liam. He saw Cass and the Pokemon nurse help Chelsea into a seat across from him, he saw Chelsea's parents come rushing into the Pokemon center and saw their faces go pale as Cass explained what had happened. As Chelsea's parents sat down next to her and embraced her and Cass continued her explanation, Liam seemed to lose his sense of hearing. Everything around him felt so far away, All he could think about was the Pokemon being crushed under the Team Power grunt's boot. Over and over and over again.

"Liam?"

Cass had sat down next to him. Liam had been lost in his own thoughts for a long time. Chelsea was still crying, but she seemed to have run out of tears. Her father was whispering to her while her mother stroked her hair.

"I didn't—I didn't know," choked Liam.

"What do you mean?" asked Cass.

"I didn't know it was—that it was hurt so badly," Liam continued, avoiding Cass's eyes. "I wouldn't have chased them if..."

"I don't think you could have saved Scraggy," said Cass, looking sadly at Chelsea.

"What happened?" said Liam, still doing his best to keep from crying, "I mean, Pokemon get beat up in battle at the time. Why did…?"

"Pokemon can't kill other Pokemon," said Cass, "Their instincts keep them from doing it. But people can."

Liam began to tremble. The tears the shock had been holding back were pouring silently down his face.

"How—how can you do that?" he sobbed, "How can anyone?"

To Liam's surprise, Cass wrapped her arms around him.

"I don't know," she said, "Liam, I don't know."

When Liam and Cass passed back through New Court, they found about a dozen students, including Vasilio and Mori, gathered around the dry fountain. They all turned and looked uneasily at Cass and Liam as they approached, as if some word of what happened outside the Woven Bowl had already spread. Cass walked over and explained what had happened to them, while Liam hung back from the group. A few burst into tears, but most of them looked seriously at each other. Vasilio walked over to Liam and put his hand on his shoulder.

"It was the same guy," said Liam in a monotone.

"From back in Jadetower?" asked Vasilio.

"Yeah," said Liam. There was a long pause.

"I can tell you're not okay," said Vasilio, "And you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But just know you can talk to me or Mori, okay?"

Liam nodded. Over at the fountain, he could see Mori hugging herself as she trembled with grief and rage.

"How's Cass?"

"She handled the whole thing," said Liam, "I didn't do anything but run after those grunts like an idiot when I should have been helping that Pokemon."

"What about Chelsea?"

Liam shook his head.

"I don't really know her," he said, "But… I mean, what do you expect? She saw someone crush her Pokemon to death in front of her eyes."

"Sorry," said Vasilio.

Cass had finished her story and was standing next to him again.

"I need to call Christine and Arthur," she said, "But I left my cellphone at home. Will you walk home with me, Liam?"

Liam nodded. On any other day, that offer would have felt almost romantic. Today, it was an excuse to get away from the crowd of students, and he was grateful for it. They walked in silence—Liam dragging his feet as Cass shifted her weight wearily from foot to foot. At the bottom of Cass's apartment building, she turned and looked at him with the same expression of pity he remembered from his first battle against her.

"I'm gonna make an appointment for you to meet with Christine on Monday," she said, "After she meets with Chelsea, I mean."

"Is she mad at me?" asked Liam.

Cass looked at him in surprise.

"Liam," she said earnestly, "I don't think Chelsea is mad at anyone right now. I think her heart is broken. She's a 13-year-old that has to bury her Pokemon. We were there, but I think she barely noticed us."

Liam nodded, feeling foolish and a little selfish.

"People are gonna want to hear what happened at school on Monday," she continued, "You don't have to tell them anything, okay?"

"Okay," said Liam. Cass smiled, and turned to walk up to her apartment.

"Can I tell you something?" said Liam abruptly.

Cass turned back to him with a curious expression on her face.

"Of course," she said.

Liam took a deep breath.

"I want to crush that Team Power grunt's skull under my foot," he said.

Cass looked a little shocked, and Liam instantly regretted saying anything.

"You couldn't do it," said Cass.

"I'd do it right now," countered Liam.

She shook her head.

"I know you couldn't," she said, "I'll see you Monday, okay?"

Liam listened until the sounds of Cass's uneven steps faded from earshot. As traced his footsteps back to the fountain, which was now deserted, he felt a shadow pass overhead. Looking up, he saw a black Charizard patrolling the skies over New Court. Silas, the League Champion, was out looking for the missing Team Power grunts. As Liam started back towards White Gardens, all he could think about was the mocking expression of the Team Power grunt, and the same expression on his own face as he crushed the grunt's head beneath his and over and over again.


	39. Chapter 39

There was an all-school assembly first thing Monday morning. Liam, Mori, and Vasilio sat in the back as usual. Principal Kahakai, wearing an uncharacteristically somber power suit, took the stage with Arthur and Miss Snyder at either shoulder.

"Our school community has experienced a tragic loss," she began, in a trembling voice, "As you all know, every Pokemon is precious at Everspring International Pokemon Academy. So we shed tears for Chelsea's Scraggy, who was taken from her by the—"

She gave a sniff, and Miss Snyder patted her on the shoulder.

"—by the heartless cruelty of Team Power. We mourn the loss, and we celebrate the memory. Chelsea, Everspring stands by you, and your wonderful Scraggy will never, ever be forgotten."

Principal Kahakai wiped her eyes and continued.

"I know that many of you feel afraid, as well as sad. The Pokemon League has taken measures over the weekend to make sure New Court is safe from Team Power. Silas, one of our alumni and a good friend of the school, is taking time away from his duties as League Champion to make sure Everspring is made safe. If you see any signs of Team Power anywhere in the city, please tell an adult at once. Do you try to fight them by yourself, for your own safety and for your Pokemon's."

"Have they still not found them?" whispered Liam to Vasilio.

Vasilio shook his head.

"We know this time is difficult for everyone. If you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to talk to your teachers or to Miss Snyder. They will keep your words and feelings private."

"Yeah, I'd rather kiss your Smoochum than talk about my feelings with Werner," muttered Mori. Despite himself, Liam cracked a smile.

"Before we dismiss, we will have a moment of silence in honor of Chelsea's Scraggy, who died protecting his trainer from harm," said Principal Kahakai, still sounding like she was on the verge of tears. At a subtle prompt from Arthur, the student body rose to their feet and stood in complete silence with their heads bowed for more than a minute. Next to him, Liam thought he saw Mori mouthing a silent prayer.

"Now," said Principal Kahakai, wiping her eyes again and putting on a smile, "You can all go to your usual classes. I know I can trust you all to be especially kind at this time, and do your best to look out for each other. I hope you all have a wonderful day."

Principal Kahakai made her way off the stage, followed by Arthur and Miss Snyder. As the other students started pushing back their chairs and collecting their things, Liam leaned over to Vasilio.

"Is she… I mean, is she being real?"

"Oh yeah," said Vasilio, picking his backpack up off the floor, "Kahakai's very sensitive, and she's always been really open about her feelings with the students. It can be awkward sometimes, but… at least she cares."

Just as Liam, Mori, and Vasilio made their way to the main stairs, they bumped into Sylvia, who detained Liam and sent the other two on to class.

"Christine— uh, Miss Snyder wants to see you," she said, "After second period."

"Okay," said Liam with a nod.

"That's all," said Sylvia, smiling, "I'm just a messenger. We better get to Rollon's class. I think he's just cruel enough to give us a quiz today."

"I'll head up in a second," said Liam, pausing to look back at the stage in the middle of the school atrium. Most of the school had already left for class, but a few older students had remained behind to chat with Principal Kahakai. Liam spotted Arthur and Liz among them, but the one person he had been hoping to see wasn't there. With a shrug, Liam hurried up the main stairs. He didn't want to be late for Rollon's class.

Liam spent most of first and second period in a state of agitated distraction. Two different anxieties tormented him in turn. He would brood over having to go talk to Miss Snyder, wondering what they could possibly have to say to each other and feeling generally embarrassed about being summoned to the school counselor; then, he would remember his words to Cass on Friday night, and wonder what she thought of him after he announced his intentions to repay Team Power's cruelty with cruelty. He felt even now that he had meant what he said, but he also admitted that he probably shouldn't have spoken his thoughts out loud—especially to Cass. He didn't want to scare her away.

As Liam completed evolution charts in Wort's class, he glanced over at Stephanie, who had already finished her worksheet and was highlighting key words in her notes. He liked to look at Stephanie, especially when she was doing schoolwork, but he had to admit to himself that while he admired her, it didn't go any further than that. Stephanie was still the prettiest girl he had ever seen, but Cass, with her short brown hair, odd fashion sense, and gangly frame, was the girl he liked to spend time with the most. Even better, Cass seemed to like spending time with him, too. He didn't want that to stop.

As Liam left Wort's room and made his way towards Miss Snyder's office, he secretly hoped he would see Cass in the hall, just so he could know everything was okay between them. He didn't see her at her locker, or among the students pushing past him on their way to third period. By the time he was standing outside the door of Miss Snyder's office, he was clinging to the unlikely chance that Cass would be inside. But when he reached for the doorknob, the door swung open and he saw not Cass, but Chelsea.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled as she nearly bumped into Liam.

"Sorry," replied Liam, stepping out of the way, "I was just wait—"

But the redheaded eight-grader was already scurrying off in the direction of Professor Alexander's math class without a backward glance. Liam reminded himself that Chelsea probably wasn't avoiding him personally, but his fear that she was angry at him for not reaching the Pokemon center in time still lingered at the back of his mind.

"Come in, Liam," said Miss Snyder, gesturing him over to the sofa next to her desk, "You can close the door."

Liam had been to the informal student lounge plenty of times in the past two months, but this was his first official visit since she had given him his schedule, and he felt more than a little uncomfortable.

"I just wanted to check on you," said Miss Snyder, setting aside a large binder and leaning casually across her desk, "Cass told me you were pretty shook up after Friday night."

"I was," said Liam, who was fidgeting with a Fame Checker on the short table in front of him, "But I'm alright now."

"Do you mind if I ask you about it?"

Liam shrugged.

"Sure, I guess."

Miss Snyder gave a small, knowing smile.

"Have you been adjusting to living in Nanzo?" she asked.

Liam cocked his head slightly at the unexpected question.

"Yeah," he said with some confusion, "I… I actually really like it here. I mean, Johto still feels more like home, but Nanzo feels… home-ish."

Miss Snyder chuckled.

"Why did you ask me that?" said Liam.

"Well," she explained, "You've been through a lot of tough stuff since you been here. First, you picked Mori as a friend, and good for you, because that girl needs more friends, but I know from experience that she's a handful."

Liam nodded vigorously.

"But more significantly though, at least in my opinion, you've run into Team Power, and fought them, twice. You've been in a lot of real danger since you came here."

"I guess," said Liam, "I haven't been… scared, if that's what you're wondering."

"The adolescent TCK brain is a weird thing," said Miss Snyder wistfully, "It's very resilient, and sometimes I think it has too much fight and not enough flight in it."

"Someone needs to fight them," interjected Liam. He realized suddenly that his emotions had flared up almost out of nowhere, and Miss Snyder was looking at him curiously.

"I'm sorry it's had to have been you so many times," she said, "I know you haven't been looking for it, unlike some students in this school."

"You mean Liz and Taylor?" asked Liam, grinning apologetically.

"Some unnamed students at this school," said Miss Snyder with a meaningful wink, "Anyways, do you mind if I ask you something else?"

"Uh, sure?"

Miss Snyder leaned forward more seriously.

"If you're not afraid of them, how do you feel about Team Power?"

Liam poked thoughtfully at the Fame Checker on the table, avoiding Miss Snyder's gaze.

"I don't understand them," he said at last, "The way they treat Pokemon, and people, makes me angry. I think they need to be punished."

Miss Snyder leaned back in her chair and nodded.

"I think I understand," she said, "Is there anything else you want to tell me about Friday night, or about anything else that's happened since you've been here?"

Liam stared at his feet for a minute, then shook his head.

"I think I'm okay," he said.

"Okay," said Miss Snyder, smiling, "Just let me know if you're feeling overwhelmed or if you need to talk."

Liam started to get up, but Miss Snyder held up a finger.

"Just a sec," she said, "Before you go, I want to give you something."

She picked up a small, folded paper from the corner of her desk and handed it to Liam. Liam opened it curiously, and saw that it was a handwritten note in a large, untidy script.

_Dear Cass and Liam,_

_Thank you for saving me. I was so afraid Team Power were going to take my other Pokemon, and if you hadn't scared them away, I don't know what would have happened. Thank you for doing everything you could to save Scraggy. We sent him back to Unova on Saturday so he could be buried in Celestial Tower. I miss Scraggy a lot, but I know he would be happy that I'm safe. _

_Chelsea Whitaker_

Liam smiled to himself as he read the note. Cass, of course, had been right, and he, as usual, had let his ego and anxiety get the better of him. He handed the note back to Miss Snyder, who folded it and placed it in a brown folder.

"I'm going to put a copy of this in both of your student files," she explained, "So you can see it again when you graduate."

"Has Cass seen this yet?" asked Liam.

"Chelsea gave it to her this morning, then she brought it to me to show to you," said Miss Snyder, "Cass went home sick before the assembly, but she wanted you to see it today."

"Is she alright?" asked Liam, trying to sound concerned without giving away the anxious feeling that was twisting at his stomach.

"She's fine," said Miss Snyder, raising an eyebrow at Liam, "It's just allergies."

"Good," said Liam, who was fairly certain Miss Snyder saw right through him, "Should I, uh, go back to class?"

"Sure, I'm done with you," said Miss Snyder, pulling a blue folder out of the file cabinet next to her desk. Liam gave a small bow and let himself out of the room.

Liam made his way as slowly as possible to Professor Alexander's classroom. As he stopped by his locker to collect his bulky math textbook, he paused to look at the nametag on Cass's gaudily-decorated locker.

_C. McCleod._

They hadn't used lockers at his old school back in Johto, and Liam had complained a lot about having to memorize his combination and rush to his locker for textbooks between classes. Now, however, the sight of Cass locker gave him a sudden impulse. Taking his Math notebook out of his backpack, he wrote a quick note and stuffed it roughly through the horizontal slot in Cass's locker.

"Missed getting ambushed at my locker today. Hope you feel better."

With the fluttering in his stomach of having done something uncharacteristically bold, Liam made his way at a light jog towards Alexander's math classroom.


	40. Chapter 40

The next day, as Liam, Taylor, and Vasilio waited for the Dude to prepare their breakfast before school, Liam noticed that his classmate had the sparkle in his eye of a sudden idea.

"Pokelympics is next week," said Vasilio, "You guys should stay the night at my house on Friday. We can stay out late and do some battles, maybe even finally evolve your Kakuna so you can clobber Rain."

"Dude, I like this idea," said Taylor, as the Dude handed him his sweet dough stick wrapped in rice cake, "Maybe we can run into some Team Power thugs and teach them a lesson."

Vasilio eyes flicked surreptitiously over to Liam.

"I think we've all probably seen enough of Team Power to last us a little while," said Vasilio, casually, "Anyways, we need a break from stress. Are you up for it, Liam?"

Liam shrugged. He was chewing his first bite of rice cake, dough stick, and beansprouts, and he didn't feel like losing any of it by trying to answer.

"Dude, you gotta come," said Taylor insistently, "Vasi's mom doesn't care if we stay out late, and Everspring is a different place after midnight."

Liam swallowed.

"I'll ask my parents," said Liam, simply. Noticing that Vasilio looked a little disappointed, he added, "Take that as a 'soft yes' for now. I think they'll be fine with it."

Taylor raised a fist in an exaggerated gesture of triumph, and Vasilio gave Liam an appreciative nod. Liam merely raised his eyebrows. It wasn't that he didn't care about Vasilio's plans; he was just distracted. He wanted to find Cass.

As they approached the school's main gate, Liam spotted Liz's dirty-blonde curls and Rebecca's short black ponytail, but to his disappointment, he didn't see Cass's brown pixie cut anywhere among the students waiting in the courtyard. After taking one last glance over his shoulder, Liam quietly accepted the solid possibility that Cass was still home sick. His feet felt a little heavier.

"Hi boys," said Rebecca as she spotted them, "Better hurry up. Bell rings in two minutes."

Taylor immediately started taking long, slow-motion strides, Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Take as long as you like, Tay," said Rebecca, "I'll just have my date escort me to class while you make a fool of yourself."

Liam shot a glance at Vasilio, who was running a hand through his white hair in the way he always did when he was embarrassed.

"I think you're trying to rub something in, but it's not working," said Taylor, as he waved his arms in a pretense of stumbling through the gate, "I know every girl in this school wants to go to Banquet with me. Vasilio may have something to prove by asking a sophomore girl. Me? I'll be up on stage winning hearts without having to match my tie to anyone."

"Uhuh," said Liz, "You just haven't finished the song you're gonna use to ask Rosaline."

Taylor put his arm around Liam with an air of mock confidentiality.

"Young mister Holbrook, pay no attention to anything Elizabeth here has to say about my musical or romantic endeavors," he said, in an uncanny impression of Professor Alexander, "She speaks much more than she thinks, and she knows even less."

"Taylor wants to make out with Ros—!" began Liz in a very loud sing-song as Taylor scrambled to put his hand over her mouth.

Liam chuckled as they pushed through the school building's main doors and the sound of the first bell echoed through the atrium.

"Dang it," said Taylor, "Time for suffering."

But as the students that had been standing around on the indoor battle fields began making their way noisily towards the main stairs, Liam noticed that Vasilio had stopped dead and cocked his ear, as if listening to something.

"Is that..?" said Vasilio, his brow furrowed.

Liam stopped to listen as well. Outside, in the direction they had just come, he thought could hear the Mightyena that slept next to the guard shack letting out booming barks, and what sounded like a large commotion.

"Guys, wait," said Vasilio, turning to look.

They all stopped to look as well, squinting through the glass doors in the direction of the school's main gate.

"Oh my god," said Rebecca, turning pale.

Taylor and Liz immediately reached for the Pokeballs on their belts.

"C'mon," said Taylor, then he turned and bellowed as loudly as he could.

"Team Power are here!"

There was a sudden rapid shuffling of feet and cacophony of voices. Many of the students that had started up the main stairs turned around and rushed back to the first floor. Liam found himself being pushed out of the main doors and into the school courtyard by a throng of students, despite shrill orders from the teachers to remain inside. As they flooded into the morning air, Liam saw clearly what he had only glimpsed through the glass.

Perhaps thirty or forty Team Power grunts, all with painted faces and white and gold uniforms, were standing on the far end of the concrete courtyard, just inside the school gate. The gate guard's Mightyena was cowering behind the guard shack as it let out loud, panicked barks. As the students faced the mob of uniformed intruders, a weird hush fell over them. Liam silently weaved his way through the crowd, looking for Mori. He found her with Vasilio and Ruth, standing near the front of the group, staring down the Team Power grunts, who were grinning maliciously.

"Mori," whispered Liam, urgently, "We need to go back—"

But the crowd of grunts suddenly parted, revealing a Zebstrika ridden by teenage girl with long, blonde hair in Team Power uniform. The Pokemon walked slowly forward until it and its rider stood in clear view of all of the Everspring students. She surveyed them with an air of cold indifference, but as she pushed her hair to the side a murmur of recognition passed through the crowd of students.

"Claire," said Mori through gritted teeth.

Liam hadn't needed the confirmation, but Vasilio was staring at his former classmate in shock, as if he had never believed until now that Claire had really joined Team Power. Beside him, Liam saw Ruth and Sylvia looking at Claire resolutely, Pokeballs in hand.

Claire seemed shaken by the murmurs of the students. Grabbing the reigns of her Zebstrika tightly, she straightened herself and, in a loud but uncertain and slightly monotone voice, began delivering a speech from memory.

"A new Spring and Autumn begins. In ancient times, Pokemon trainers were feared warriors and strong rulers. The art of battle was studied by both emperors and poets, and those who mastered it could remake the world according to their principles."

Claire's eyes darted around the grim faces of the students, as if looking for a reaction. She swallowed nervously and continued.

"Now, the Pokemon League has made battles into a game for children and a pastime for the old. The ancient schools of battle have become enthusiast clubs and street gangs, debasing the true art of battle to mere sport. Where strong Pokemon trainers once led, they now serve. It is this order, which respects neither greatness nor principle, that Team Power will destroy. Team Power ruled Nanzo in the past, and we shall rule again. The other schools of battle shall be swept away, and—"

"Miss Morgan, close your mouth!"

Professor Werner, supported by a wooden cane, was pushing his way through the crowd of students towards Claire. Liam could see his face contorted with indignation, and the students around him took a step back as he planted himself in front of Claire in a posture of defiance.

"I see you're still an imputent bully," he continued in his croaking voice, "But to make speeches to your former schoolmates like a conquering hero? Spare us and yourself from your own lack of proper shame."

Claire's eyes widened, and she started to make a mumbled reply, but Werner cut her off.

"I have no interest in putting you in your place, lucky for you. Unless a great deal has changed in the past year, you're still a mediocre Pokemon trainer with an inflated sense of your own importance. I have nothing to prove by defeating you."

Claire glanced around in obvious discomfort, as if hoping someone was going to rescue her from Werner's tirade. Liam saw Mori give a satisfied smirk.

"On the other hand," continued Werner, turning his attention to the grunts behind her, "I understand one of you makes sport of killing defenseless Pokemon. Which of you is it? You I will be much more interested to speak to."

The grunts looked at each other in slight confusion, but then a tall, young man with short black hair stepped forward. Liam recognized him instantly.

"Ah, so it's you," said Werner, mockingly, "And what's your name?"

"Jiu," said man, smiling, "And it'll be the last you ever hear, old man."

Several of the grunts laughed. Werner's eyes narrowed.

"I challenge you to a Pokemon battle," said Werner, in a deadly whisper.

Jiu laughed and reached for the first Pokeball on his belt. Next to him, Claire's Zebstrika tossed its head nervously as she looked helplessly at the unfolding events.

"I hope you know we don't play by the Pokemon League's petty rules, old man," sneered Jiu.

"I'm well aware," growled Werner. He reached into his pocket and took out a single, weathered Pokeball. Liam recognized it as an old-fashioned Pokeball carved from an Apricorn, like those made by Kurt back in Johto. Its once-glossy surface was olive-green and covered with scrapes and cracks from years of use. Werner held up his Pokeball defiantly before tossing it forcefully onto the concrete before him.

"Skarmory," he croaked, "It's time to battle, my friend."

The Pokemon that burst from the ancient ball looked as old and worn as its trainer. Its silver-gray armor was faded with age, and its left wing was broken and twisted from some long-ago battle. Skarmory gave a ragged shriek as it eyed Jiu, who laughed, along with the other grunts, when he saw the Pokemon.

"I see Team Virtue now extends filial piety to Pokemon as well as people," said Jiu contemptuously, "Machamp, finish off this broken bird."

Machamp burst from its Pokeball with a roar and stretched its four arms menacingly, but Werner's lip curled in a small smile.

"Skarmory," he commanded, stretching out a bony finger, "Sky Attack!"

"Machamp, Close Comb—!" shouted Jiu, but before he could finish, Skarmory, glowing with energy, bolted past Machamp so quickly it was almost invisible. Jiu's Machamp froze, and without taking a single step, collapsed face-first into the concrete. The Team Power grunt stared at his defeated Pokemon is disbelief.

"You'll find the use of the Power Herb described on page 83 of The Art of Battle," said Werner, coolly, "Evidently the School of Power's pupils aren't as well-informed as in former days."

Jiu recalled his Machamp bitterly and reached for his second Pokeball.

"Golem!" he said, "Let's cripple this bird's other wing. Use Stone Edge!"

The Golem lunged towards the ancient steel bird, but Werner was as alert was before.

"Steel Wing," he said simply.

Skarmory slashed the charging Golem with its good wing, and the Rock-type Pokemon stumbled and skidded across the courtyard, coming to a halt next to Claire and causing her Zebstrika to rear up and winny in agitation.

"Golem wasn't a poor choice," said Werner, "But at least you should have used Fire Blast."

Jiu spat bitterly, looking at Werner with frustration and hatred. Without recalling his fainted Golem, he reached for both of the remaining Pokeballs on his belt.

"Ariados, Croconaw!" he bellowed, "Finish off the bird, and then the old man!"

Liam reached for the Pokeball on his belt containing Sneasel, but Werner looked just as quietly confident and defiant as ever.

"Night Slash," he croaked.

Skarmory dived forward, delivering a savage slash to the neck of the Croconaw, which crumbled to the ground immediately. Ariados cloaked itself in darkness as it struck Skarmory with Shadow Sneak, but the attack had almost no effect. Fixing the Ariados with its predatory gaze, the Skarmory swept it from the field of battle with a single blast of wind from its right wing, leaving the spider-like Pokemon twitching pointlessly on its back.

The battle, however, wasn't finished. The Skarmory leapt fiercely at Jiu, pinning him to the ground with its metal talons as Werner hobbled towards him, cane in hand.

"I've fought many of your kind before," growled Werner, "Death-worshipping thugs that understand nothing but the fist and the jackboot. I saw the same look in your eyes that I saw in the eyes of Kantonian soldiers as they slaughtered unarmed farmers in the Second Pokemon War. You've started by killing Pokemon, so I'll tell you this: killing men is much less pleasant. But when power-mad boys in uniforms think they can make the world grovel before them, certain measures are unavoidable."

Werner was now standing over Jiu, looking down at him with a curious expression. The Team Power grunt was gasping and trembling, holding his hands over his face to protect himself from Skarmory's metal beak. Behind him, the other grunts were looking at Werner with fear and uncertainty, Pokeballs in hand.

"Skarmory, return," said Werner, holding out the old, olive-green Pokeball. The man on the ground lowered his hands and looked up at Werner in surprise.

"Don't ever let me see you in that uniform again," said Werner icily. Jiu's eyes widened.

Werner turned and started to hobble back towards the students. Jiu remained on the ground, still in a state of shock. The other grunts were still glancing at each other with uncertainty.

"Team Power!" shouted Claire, trying to regain control of the situation and her Zebstrika reared up, "Attack!"

But as the grunts prepared to unleash their Pokemon on the students, Liam heard something behind them: the pounding bassline of an industrial song blaring from an approaching car. With a loud skid, the car rounded the corner and started speeding towards the school's main gate. Liam recognized the white Gengar painted on its hood at once. The Team Power grunts turned to look in the direction of the car, but as they did so, another sound—the roar of an ancient Pokemon flying high overhead—made most of them jump.

"Now!" shouted Professor Wort in his low, deep voice.

The teachers of Everspring charged in front of the students and released their Pokemon. Tobias jumped out of his car and released a menacing-looking Gengar, which immediately mega-evolved and started crawling hungrily towards the gate. Up above them, Liam saw a woman in a brightly-colored traditional outfit riding an Aerodactyl. With a primordial roar, the Pokemon soared down towards Team Power. The grunts were in a panic, and despite Claire's loud commands to stand their ground, several took off out the school gate as quickly as they could. As the teachers' Pokemon charged and the Aerodactyl made another menacing pass above, Liam heard another sound—but he didn't have to look to see what it came from.

From over the apartments surrounding the school, Silas' black Charizard came like a fiery shadow. Those Team Power grunts that had put up a fight quickly recalled their Pokemon and fled however they could; some on foot, others mounting whatever flying Pokemon they could lay their hands on. In the turmoil, Liam saw Claire being carried away by her Braviary. Within a moment, she had disappeared behind nearby apartment buildings. Many of her grunts were not so lucky.

After a few minutes of confused battling, the Everspring teachers had rounded up about a dozen Team Power grunts that had been unable to escape. Tobias was standing guard over them with a cruel grin on his face as his Gengar stared at the prisoners, licking its lips. Silas and the woman riding the Aerodactyl were talking to Miss Snyder and Miss Kahakai. Wort, Werner, and Professor Shrike had corralled the students on the far side of the courtyard, where most of them were looking curiously at the captured grunts as the teachers took a head count.

"Who's the lady with the Aerodactyl?" whispered Liam to Vasilio.

"That's Ashima," explained Vasilio, "She's the Rock-type gym leader from the Karst Forest. I guess Christine must have called her to help."

Liam noticed that Miss Snyder was holding her cellphone as she talked cheerfully with the League Champion.

"Think she called Silas too?" asked Liam.

"She called them all as soon as Team Power came through the gate," said Rain, "I saw her do it."

"Good thing, too," said Jonah, "I don't think we could have taken all of them at once."

Mori was sitting cross-legged on the ground and staring at her feet. Liam thought he knew why.

"I saw Claire get away," he said quietly.

"I know," said Mori, without looking up.

Ruth was squinting at the captured grunts and frowning.

"I wonder why they would do this," she said, as if to herself, "Why do they choose to hurt Pokemon and push down others?"

"Most of them are just kids," said Sylvia, who was also peering closely at the prisoners, "That guy Jiu was one of the older ones, and he couldn't be much older than my brother."

"Did they catch him?" asked Liam, standing on tip-toe to get a better look at the captives.

"No," said Ruth, quietly.

As she spoke, Liam noticed that Werner was hobbling over to them with a satisfied smile on his face.

"They're scattered and dishonored," he said to Liam, with an enthusiasm that was almost off-putting, "It'll be a long, long time before we hear from Team Power again."

"Professor Werner, why do you think they came here anyways?" asked Sylvia.

Werner tilted his head thoughtfully.

"I have a theory," he said, "I think maybe Miss Morgan was embarrassed by what happened with Miss Whitaker's Scraggy on Friday, and thought that showing up at the school gate would make an impression."

"Well, it did that," said Jonah, "Guess me and Liam missed some exciting stuff when Claire was around, huh?"

"She was difficult," said Sylvia, "And a wannabe dictator."

Mori continued to stare at the ground.

"I still do not understand," said Ruth, "She is mean, and selfish, and bossy, but she is not like that Jiu."

"Yes, she is," muttered Mori.

Ruth looked at Mori in surprise. Liam wondered momentarily if an argument was about to break out, but the topic was dropped as Miss Snyder announced that everyone could return to their normal classes. Quite a few students groaned, but Liam was glad for a return to normalcy after a very strange few days. He offered a hand to Mori and pulled her roughly to her feet.

"Guess we dodged Lit, at least," said Liam. Mori nodded, but she didn't smile.

As they approached the glass doors of the school's main entrance, Liam took one last look back over the courtyard. Most of the teachers left for their classes, but Liam noticed that Werner had lingered behind to talk to Chelsea. She was looking away from Liam, towards the captured Team Power grunts, and Werner was speaking to her softly with his hand on her shoulder. Liam couldn't hear what they were saying, but Chelsea seemed to be nodding. Just as Liam turned to push his way through the main doors, he thought he saw Werner putting his arm around Chelsea and Chelsea burying her face in his old, frayed sweater.

While Liam climbed the main stairs, he thought about everything Werner had taught him in the past few weeks. Werner could be a harsh and critical teacher, but he also believed that what truly separated the philosophies of Team Virtue and Team Power was compassion. Both schools practiced self-discipline, both believed in the importance of knowledge, but where Team Power held weakness in contempt, Team Virtue saw weakness as an opportunity for compassion. As Liam took his seat in Wort's classroom and began looking for his notebook, he thought that if only he could match the discipline of Werner with the compassion of Cass, he would be a very satisfied person indeed.


	41. Chapter 41

Cass returned to school on Wednesday, and while Liam was glad to see her, he was also a little disappointed that she seemed more interested in the showdown with Team Power than in how much he had missed her. She thanked him for his note, gave him a long, tight hug, and ambushed him at his locker, but Liam couldn't help but feel that the incident at Woven Bowl hadn't proven quite as much a relationship milestone for Cass as it did for him.

As Friday approached, Liam found himself looking forward to an all-nighter with Vasilio and Taylor. It wasn't the chance to battle or stay out late the he was really looking forward to—it was the chance to talk about girls late at night, when those conversations were the most interesting. It was the chance to weigh up their chances, agonize over ambiguous interactions, and analyze invented, implausible scenarios with rigor and vigor. A chance for the kind of emotional and personal self-disclosure they, as teenage boys, usually avoided like a rabid Skuntank.

So, while Liam did stop to buy potions and revives at the foreign PokeMart on his way to the Youth Group on Friday evening, his thoughts were more focused on girls than on battling. He found most of his friends already standing around outside, chatting and making plans for the evening. A small group had gathered around the bench where I Am Munchlax were giving one of their impromptu concerts. Liam stood next to Mori, who was watching with arched eyebrows and crossed arms.

"I heard you're sleeping over with Vasi and Taylor," she said.

"Yeah," said Liam. He noticed that despite her contemptuous expression, Mori was tapping her foot in time with the music.

"Don't spend all night talking about me."

Liam looked at Mori with his eyebrows raised.

"I know what boys are like," she said matter-of-factly.

Following her gaze, Liam saw that Mori's eyes were fixed on a thin, slouching 11th grader with dark eyes, tousled reddish hair, and an indifferent expression on his freckled face. Liam recognized him, but couldn't place his name. Mori appeared to be studying him closely, and it reminded Liam of the way she used to look at Jonah.

I Am Munchlax finished their song to some scattered applause and began packing their instruments. Liam walked up to Vasilio, who was chuckling at something Rebecca was whispering in his ear.

"We had to get in another practice while we still had Arthur," explained Vasilio as he spotted Liam, "And Taylor still hasn't picked the songs for Spring Banquet."

"It's a delicate art," insisted Taylor as he fished a few crumpled bills of his guitar case.

"How much of that is mine?" asked Arthur.

"None, you're rich," said Taylor, pocketing the tips, "I need this to pay for pizza."

"That is discimination," protested Arthur, reaching for Taylor's wallet.

"Correct," said Rebecca, "C'mon, Tay, I get a third of that. I'm poor too."

"My contributions to this band continue to go unacknowledged," grumbled Arthur.

Liam glanced back at Mori as he started back towards New Court with Vasilio and Taylor. She was talking animatedly to the older boy, looking up at him with her intense, unblinking gaze. Liam mentioned what he saw to Vasilio, who shook his head.

"That's Dustin," said Vasilio, "He's part of that group that hangs out with the North Side kids."

"Ah," said Liam, "So Mori's going back to the North Side bad boys again?"

"Looks like it," said Taylor, "She fits in better with that crew, but they're not good for her."

"Didn't you help her run away last year?" asked Liam pointedly.

"She needs a break every once in a while," said Taylor, tossing his hair.

Liam waited at the New Court Fountain while his friends left their guitars at Vasilio's house. After they returned, they caught a taxi together heading downtown. They passed Feather and Petal Street and pulled into a dark, narrow sidestreet with tall buildings on either side. At the end was an old-fashioned house in the traditional Nanzo style. Light poured from its many windows, and a sign above the main entrance read "Wang's Pizzeria."

"This used to be the only place to get pizza in Everspring," said Vasilio as they walked up the steps to the main entrance.

Wall lamps illuminated the packed wooden seats and tables inside with a bright orange glow. The decor seemed to be of another time, harkening back to when Nanzo was just opening up to foreign influence and Everspring was a growing city in a rustic, backwater province. The walls were covered in old, black-and-white photos of people and Pokemon from a time even further back, perhaps even before the Pokemon Wars. Liam followed his friends up stone stairs to the second level, where they found a spot next to a weathered pool table and sat down to order. They had the restaurant almost entirely to themselves, apart from a few local couples whispering confidentially as they dined. Liam got the strong impression of a once-beloved restaurant that had fallen on hard times.

Taylor ordered for their group with the air of a magnanimous Nanzo businessman treating his guests. After the shifty-looking Pancham that took their order shuffled away to the unseen kitchen, Vasilio and Taylor started a game of pool. The exact rules seemed very ill-defined, and the two argued over every point and constantly invented exceptions. Liam watched in amusement for a while, but soon started wandering the restaurant to look at the old photos on the walls.

Liam had been right to think that the pictures were very, very old. They showed an Everspring City that was barely recognizable, with traditional tile-roofed houses overhanging narrow stone-paved streets. Where skyscrapers now dominated the city skyline, these pictures showed open skies and distant outlines of high mountains. As his eyes darted from photograph to photograph, Liam began to spot a few familiar elements: old men smoking bamboo water pipes, fire-type Pokemon with food carts, businessmen trundling along on bicycles. He also saw something that surprised him: tucked away in a corner in a display case of photos labelled "The Flying Incineroars" were dozens of pictures of foreigners. Most were in Unovan military uniform, grinning wide at the camera against backdrops old-fashioned buildings or the then-idyllic shoreline of South Cloud Lake. These, Liam guessed, were from the Second Pokemon War, when Unovans fought alongside Nanzonese against the Empire of Kanto. One photo in particular, however, caught his eye. It was a group shot of men in pilot uniforms, standing in front of a plane with an Incineroar's jaws painted on its snout. At the center was an older man with a hard face and hawk-like nose, but the others were younger, perhaps barely out of school. And on the far left was a thin, blond-haired pilot with a Skarmory perched on his arm.

"Is that…. Werner?" Liam muttered.

He looked more closely at the picture, and the more he looked, the more certain he became. He was looking at Werner as a young man, an ace pilot with his trusty Skarmory at his side. Liam had assumed that Werner had experienced the Second Pokemon War as a civilian, not a pilot facing death in the skies over Nanzo. Yet here he was, honored among those who fought against the Empire of Kanto almost seventy years ago. Liam now looked with great interest at a faded, yellowing paper at the bottom of the display case, which read:

"The Unovan volunteers of the Flying Incineroars patrolled the skies of Nanzo during the Second Pokemon War. They protected Everspring City from Kantonian bombers, trained local Nanzonese pilots, and escorted vital shipments of supplies over the Hump. During their short period of service, they amassed one of the most impressive dogfighting records in the war and saved thousands of lives."

Liam could picture it clearly in his mind. Werner in his fighter plane with Skarmory flying at his side, soaring through the air as enemy bullets whirred past them. Perhaps one of those stray bullets was what crippled Skarmory's wings. Liam imagined Werner, cold fury in his eyes, taking tenfold revenge on enemy planes as his Pokemon fell towards the ground. But no, Liam realized that wasn't Werner. Werner turned back to the base the moment Skarmory was hit. He sprinted across rice patties and through open fields in search of his wounded Pokemon. Hearing its cry, he rushed to its side and carried the broken body of his Skarmory to a nearby hovel, where an old farmer bound its wounds. Perhaps the old farmer saw something in Werner that made him bring out his family's ancient copy of the Analects and hand it to his foreigner visitor. Liam imagined Werner pouring over the book by the light of a gasoline lamp as he sat up with his wounded Skarmory. He imagined his anguish when the doctor told him his Skarmory would never fly again. Anguish, and then… peace.

Liam was jolted from his reverie back the sound of Vasilio swearing loudly. Looking back, Liam saw that his friend was now playing pool against Taylor's Simipour, and that Vasilio was losing.

"It's not my fault you're worse than my Simipour, dude," chuckled Taylor.

"Maybe if your Simipour spent less time playing pool it would be better at battling," grumbled Vasilio.

"We'll see about that later," said Taylor, "Anyways, pizza's here."

As Liam sat down with his friends and began devouring the large pizzas that had been set before them, he wondered whether he should tell them about Werner's photograph. Werner's war service clearly wasn't a secret—and yet he had never mentioned it to them in class. He spoke of the Second Pokemon War as one who had seen it, but not as one who had fought it. Perhaps Werner preferred to keep the young, blond-haired flying ace a secret, at least from his students. So, as Liam shoved the first slice of delicious pizza into his mouth, he decided not to tell Vasi and Taylor about what he had found. At least not yet.


	42. Chapter 42

Liam and his friends left Wang's around 11PM full of pizza and ready to find a little trouble. They caught a taxi—one of the very few still out at that late hour—back to New Court, which was a significant shorter ride than going the other direction. Taylor was right: Everspring was a different place late at night. The streets were almost empty, aside from a few puttering cars and the hulking blue freight trucks that always seemed to be carrying nothing but dirt. Despite being brightly lit by the golden glow of thousands of streetlights, the city appeared almost deserted. There were still restaurants open—mostly family-owned hole-in-the-walls with rowdy, half-drunk working men crowded around spinning tables—but they were small, loud islands in a quiet urban sea.

Instead of heading back to Vasilio's apartment, the three friends passed New Court's main gate and headed towards the elevated roundabout halfway between New Court and Liam's home in White Gardens. In the middle of the roundabout was a grassy, park-like area about the size of a soccer field, lit bright as day by floodlights high above. Unsurprisingly, it was deserted. As Taylor climbed up onto the grass, he turned to face Vasilio and Liam with two Pokeballs in his hands.

"Double battle against you two freshies?" he asked, grinning.

"How does that help me evolve my Kakuna?" said Liam, climbing awkwardly after him.

"Don't you have an Exp. Share?" asked Taylor incredulously. Liam shook his head.

"Here, use mine," said Taylor, reaching into his backpack and taking out a harness covered in glowing baubles.

After fitting the harness awkwardly onto his Kakuna's head, Liam and Vasilio took their place on the far side of the grassy field. With the flood lights shining down on them and the massive open field, it almost felt like a Pokemon League match.

"I'm guessing he's using Exploud?" whispered Liam to Vasilio.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, without lowering his voice, "And Pidgeotto."

"You wanna take the land and I'll take the sky?"

"Let's do it," affirmed Vasilio, "Go, Amaura!"

"Murkrow, go!" shouted Liam.

With a smirk and a shrug, Taylor tossed out both Pokeballs at once. As they expected, he had chosen Exploud and Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, Double Team!" Taylor yelled, "Exploud, give us an Echoed Voice!"

"Let's take Pidgeotto first," said Vasilio, "Amaura, Aurora Beam!"

"Murkrow, Wing Attack!" shouted Liam.

Murkrow rose into the air in pursuit of Pidgeotto, but its attack fell wide of the flying Pokemon, which had become a blur circling overhead. Amaura's Aurora Beam, however, hit its mark, and Pidgeotto gave a loud, shrill cry.

"Exploud, keep that Echoed Voice going!" said Taylor, "Pidgeotto, use Return."

Liam Murkrow winced as it was struck by the wave of sound . Taylor's Pidgeotto shook the frost out of its feathers and rocketed towards Murkow. Pidgeotto's Return almost knocked its foe from the air, and Murkrow was able to regain its balance.

"Amaura, finish off Pidgeotto with Ancient Power!" said Vasilio.

"Murkrow, Foul Play on Exploud!" added Liam.

Amaura levitated several massive stones up from the earth and hurled them forcefully at Taylor's Pidgeotto. With a screech, the bird Pokemon tumbled to the ground in a faint. Liam felt the Pokeball on his belt containing Kakuna vibrate as the Pokemon gained vicarious experience. His own Foul Play was less effective,

"Sorry, Liam!" shouted Taylor, "This is gonna hurt!"

With a bellow so loud it shook the grass at Liam's feet, Taylor's Exploud blasted Murkrow from the sky. The Pokemon fell limply to the ground before Liam, its feathers ruffled and frayed.

"We've still got him," said Vasilio confidently, as Liam recalled his fainted Pokemon.

"Ready to give up, freshies?" called Taylor.

"Not yet," replied Vasilio, "Amaura, Hyper Beam."

"Wait, but that's a—" began Taylor, but before he could say any more, Amaura let out a blinding beam that shook the entire roundabout and turned the air around them cold. Liam held up a hand to shield his eyes, and when he looked again he saw Taylor's Exploud lying sprawled on its back, its mouth wide open. Taylor was pushing his sweaty black hair out of his face dejectedly.

"Refrigerate Hyper Beam," he said, recalling Exploud and starting across the grass-covered field towards them, "That's just evil, dude."

Vasilio merely smirked. Liam, however, was suddenly distracted by a Pokeball on his belt starting to glow.

"Ooh, take it out!" said Taylor eagerly.

Liam released his Kakuna, and the three friends gathered around to watch as the glowing Pokemon morphed slowly into a Beedrill.

"Sick," said Taylor, "About time, too."

"You can hang on to that Exp. Share, though." he added as Liam reached to take the harness off his Pokemon, "I want to see Rain lose enough to go without it until Tuesday."

They continued to battle in the middle of the roundabout for another hour. Taylor had come amply stocked with Revives, Full Restores, and Elixirs, explaining cryptically that he "knew a guy" as he handed them out. Liam participated in most of the fights, but he was glad when Vasilio finally suggested they head back towards New Court.

Liam had never been to Vasilio's house before. Actually, he hadn't been to anyone's house but his own since moving to Everspring, so it was with a mix of excitement and anxiety that he followed Vasilio and Taylor up the dark, narrow concrete stairs towards apartment 502. The pink apartments of New Court were in an older style than the more modern buildings in White Gardens, forming an awkward middle ground between the brutalist apartment blocks of the old era and the luxury highrises being constructed at that very moment overlooking Feather and Petal Street downtown. As they reached the fifth floor landing, Liam heard Vasilio and Taylor fumbling with the apartment's thick metal door in the dark. They opened it as quietly as possible, but the door gave such a loud creak Liam was sure they would wake everyone in the building. Hoping they somehow hadn't been heard, Liam, Vasilio, and Taylor crept cautiously into the apartment and closed the heavy door gingerly behind them.

Vasilio's apartment turned out to be small and somewhat cramped, with an odd mix of well-worn Western-style furnishings and stindely wooden furniture in the traditional Nanzo style. The lights were turned off, so the three friends did their best to move silently across the tile floor to Vasilio's room. As they tip-toed past his parents' bedroom, however, Vasilio's mother—a smiling woman in her forties with her son's white hair—peeked out of her bedroom to welcome them and encourage them to help themselves to anything in the kitchen. They thanked her sheepishly and turned immediately to plundering the kitchen of all the popcorn, chips, cold pizza, and Soda Pops they could carry.

Vasilio's bedroom was narrow and rectangular, with just enough room for his bunk bed along with a large fish tank filled with Water Pokemon, a ragged blue beanbag, and a squat wooden desk covered in schoolwork. Taylor settled comfortably into the beanbag on the floor while Liam climbed awkwardly onto the top bunk, trying to get as far from Vasilio's fish tank as possible. The bed creaked almost as loudly as the front door, making Liam wince. While Vasilio closed and locked his door, Taylor released his Simipour from a Pokeball on his belt. The blue, monkey-like Pokemon began making faces in the glass of the fish tank.

"So," said Taylor, putting his hands behind his head and smirking, "Let's talk about girls."

Vasilio snorted and threw himself onto the bottom bunk. He hung the belt that held his Pokeballs on hook nailed into this bedroom wall, but not before reaching for the ball containing Amaura.

"You sure it's late enough for that?" asked Vasilio, releasing Amaura onto the carpeted floor of the room. Liam opened his first Soda Pop and took a long, refreshing sip.

"Liam up there is an open book," said Taylor, "Bet it's never too early for him."

Liam shrugged, but didn't protest. He had taken out his Eevee, which was curled contently on the bed next to him. Taylor laughed and helped himself to a slice of cold pizza.

"Okay, Taylor," said Vasilio, "Let's talk about girls. Let's talk about the girl that you like, who happens to be—"

"Why don't we ask Liam who he likes?" interrupted Taylor through a mouth full of pizza. Simipour giggled mischievously.

"Because Liam likes every girl," said Vasilio, "Anyways, back to that girl that you—"

"You know, I think Liam likes one girl more than the other girls," continued Taylor, pretending not to hear Vasilio, "Liam, why don't you tell us about what older girl who maybe is in, say, 11th grade that you happen to like—"

"No, I like Vasi's idea," said Liam, stroking Eevee's fur, "Tell us about who you like."

Taylor sighed melodramatically and set his pizza slice on a paper plate next to him.

"So," he began slowly, "There's this girl—"

"Rosaline," interjected Vasilio.

"Who will remain unnamed," continued Taylor in the same slow, methodical cadence.

"Yeah, but we know it's Rosaline," said Vasilio. Liam chuckled.

"Who may or may not go to this school," persisted Taylor.

"Uh, she definitely does," said Vasilio, "I've seen you sitting next to her in class."

"Who I may or may not be attracted to."

"You wrote a song about her," said Vasilio, rolling his eyes, "And you're making us all learn it so you can play it for her at Spring Banquet."

"Is it any good?" asked Liam.

"It's not bad," said Vasilio, "Kind of an acoustic emo ballad, which is a sure way of knowing Taylor is in a mopey, lovesick phase."

"Speaking of the band," said Taylor, clearly sensing a chance, "Let's talk about you and Rebecca."

Simipour clapped its hands together in obvious glee, but Vasilio's eyes narrowed.

"What about me and Rebecca?" he asked suspiciously.

"Dude, she is so into you it's gross," said Taylor, grinning, "She's clearly scoped you out as boyfriend material. You can't escape now."

Vasilio shook his head incredulously.

"Liam, c'mon, back me up," said Taylor.

"I mean, she does seem to like you a lot," said Liam, propping himself up on his elbows, "And she's gotten pretty… touchy-feely since you asked her to Banquet."

"You better be careful dude," said Taylor sagely, "Because Rebecca is someone who gets what she wants."

Next to Taylor, Simipour wagged a finger in imitation of someone giving a lecture to a stubborn child.

"What if I don't want Rebecca?" asked Vasi pointedly.

"Too baff," mumbled Taylor through another bite of pizza.

"What's wrong with Rebecca?" asked Liam, leaning over the edge of the bunk to look down at his friend.

"Nothing," said Vasi seriously, "She's just not the girl I'm interested in."

"You should learn to be interested," said Taylor, "Be more flexible. You can wait around for the perfect girl to never fall into your lap, or you can take what you can get."

"You sound like Mori," said Vasilio. Liam thought he sounded a little sullen.

"Excuse me," said Taylor, feigning offense, "Grace Shaw sounds like me. I taught her everything she knows."

"Oh no, here we go," muttered Vasilio. "Go ahead, do the thing."

"Let's take a poll," said Taylor, in a tone of someone delivering a speech many-times rehearsed, "Who in this room has ever kissed a girl?"

Taylor raised his hand as high as he could. Vasilio leaned back and rolled his eyes.

"Let's take another poll," he continued, "Who in this room has kissed more than one girl?"

Taylor raised his hand again. Liam's curiosity was piqued.

"Really?" said Liam, "Who have you—"

"Don't encourage him!" interjected Vasilio, but it was too late.

"Why, I'm glad you asked," said Taylor, with obvious satisfaction, "Let's take another poll. Who in this room has kissed... Mori?"

Taylor raised his hand proudly, and so did his Simipour. Liam laughed as Taylor gave his Simipour an annoyed whack, but he also felt his heart start to pound with both excitement and jealousy.

"Dude, you were eleven," said Vasilio wearily, "It barely counts."

"I wanna hear this story," said Liam eagerly.

"Before he makes it sound more exciting than it was, it happened at Pokemon camp five years ago and it was a dare," said Vasilio, "There; I saved you the trouble."

"Still counts," said Taylor, closing his eyes as if to mentally replay the scene. Simipour nodded in agreement.

"Okay," said Liam, "So who's the other one?"

"Ah," said Taylor, tapping his nose in imitation of Professor Alexander, "Another excellent question, young Mr. Holbook. Let's take another poll, shall we?"

Simipour rubbed its hands together eagerly.

"Who in this room," began Taylor with relish, "Has kissed Cassandra McCleod?"

Taylor and Simipour both raised their hands, but just as Liam felt his heart drop, Vasilio whacked them both with a pillow.

"Liar," he said, "Don't tortue the poor guy."

"Fine, fine," said Taylor, chuckling at his own joke, "It was Liz. We dated for like a week back in 9th grade, until our parents found out."

Taylor gave a shudder.

"And you've been out of luck ever since," said Vasilio, grinning.

"Let's go back to picking on Liam about Cass," said Taylor.

Liam shifted self-consciously on the top bunk.

"Is, uh, is it really that obvious?" asked Liam, almost in a whisper.

"I mean, you don't drool over her the way you do over Stephanie and Mori, but that's probably a good thing," said Vasilio, leaning back to pet his Amaura, "You act kind of like a lost Snubbul when she's not around, though."

"I'm kinda surprised Rain hasn't tried to play matchmaker for you," said Taylor, "Unless she knows something we don't."

"Do you guys… well, do you think I have a chance with her?" asked Liam hesitantly.

Taylor shrugged.

"If I'm bein' honest, I would have said she's out of your league," he explained, "But she does seem to like you. As a friend, at least. And weren't you guys basically on a date when those Team Power jerks killed Chelsea's Pokemon?"

Liam thought for a moment.

"I'm… not sure," he said at last, "I'm not sure about a lot with Cass, actually. It's so hard to tell whether I'm just… I don't know, a new kid she's looking after because she's the vice prez, or whether, maybe..."

He trailed off.

"She wants to have a makeout session in a bike shed behind school?" put in Taylor, with the air of someone being helpful. Vasilio snorted.

"That's, uh, not where I was going with it," said Liam, blushing slightly.

Below him, Taylor's Simipour was blowing kisses to the entire room.

"That's the best spot, by the way," said Taylor, "If you ever get the chance."

"Since when were you an expert on makeout spots?" asked Vasilio.

"I found them all during that one week with Liz," said Taylor with a roguish smirk.

"How does Arthur feel about that?" said Vasilio.

Taylor shrugged.

"Arthur is jealous of me in many ways," he said, opening a Soda Pop and passing it to his Simipour. Vasilio and Liam both snorted.

"Anyways," said Taylor, "Back to young Liam. I think you oughta to talk to Cass. Tell her that you like her."

"Yeah, no," said Liam, flatly.

"You're giving out really hypocritical advice there, dude," chuckled Vasilio.

Simipour gave a wide grin and nodded vigorously.

"You're supposed to be on my side," scolded Taylor as he snatched back the Soda Pop, "And I'm just biding my time. If you don't wanna do that, Liam, you should at least ask her to Banquet. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could say no."

"And so what?" said Taylor, pausing to take a long gulp of Soda Pop, "I don't think Cass knows how to be mean. And at least then you'll know."

Liam thought for a moment, stroking Eevee's fur as it purred in its sleep.

"How come nobody else has asked her yet?" he said, "It seems like everyone likes her."

"Could be Sylvia Syndrome," said Taylor matter-of-factly.

"Sylvia Syndrome?" repeated Liam. On the bunk below him, Vasilio ran a hand through his hair in the way he always did when he was uncomfortable.

"She's too perfect," explained Taylor, "So all the guys in school think she's too good for them, and none of them want to be the one that gets turned down."

"How did I get dragged into this?" grumbled Vasilio.

"I did not mention any names," said Taylor, raising both hands to protest his innocence. Liam laughed.

"I'm also biding my time," said Vasilio, "That's something you should understand, Taylor. Anyways, I don't think that's it. To be honest, I don't know how many guys are into Cass."

"Could be that your class is the main attraction now, girls-wise," said Taylor, "I mean, you guys got Mori, Sylvia, Stephanie…"

"Ruth," put in Liam.

"Oh, you like Ruth too?" said Taylor.

"That's not what I—" protested Liam.

"She wears a bra and goes to Everspring International Pokemon Academy, what do you expect?" said Vasilio.

"Ooh, now it's getting juicy," said Taylor eagerly, "I like that word."

"What, bra?" asked Liam.

"No, academy," said Taylor, rolling his eyes, "Simipour, give Professor Oak up there a Water Gun to the face."

Liam ducked just in time as Simipour shot a spout of water in his direction.

"Hey, no battling in my room," said Vasilio, "Mom stopped giving me shaokao money for two weeks last time when you set my wall on fire."

"Okay, okay," said Taylor, "Anyways, where were we?"

"Bras," said Liam.

"That's it, I'm going to sleep," said Vasilio, giving Liam's bunk a kick, "Taylor, get the lights."

"Just when it was getting good," grumbled Liam.

After several attempts, Taylor managed to flick the lightswitch with his foot. Apart from the bluish glow of Vasilio's fish tank and the dull red of the city lights out the window, the room was dark. Taylor fell asleep almost immediately, despite sleeping on the floor in the beanbag. Liam could hear Simipour snoring loudly. Liam laid awake for about ten minutes, his thoughts bouncing between his feelings for Cass, Taylor's first kiss with Mori, and Vasilio's apparent troubles with Rebecca. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he suddenly remembered something from earlier in the evening that he hadn't remembered to ask Vasilio. Leaning groggily over the edge of the bunk, he checked to see if Vasilio was still awake.

"Vasi," Liam whispered.

Vasilio gave a slight jolt and sat up, causing the Amaura sleeping next to him to twitch uneasily in its sleep.  
"Oh, sorry," said Liam, "I didn't know if you were…"

"It's fine," said Vasilio, wiping his eyes, "What is it?"

"About, uh, Mori and Dustin," began Liam, cautiously.

"Yeah?"  
"Is that… gonna be trouble?"

Vasilio shook his head.  
"I don't like it," he muttered, "I've never heard anything bad about Dustin, it's just…"

"Something about him?"

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "And with a guy that much older than her, I'm kinda worried."

"About what?" whispered Liam.  
"How far she'll let things go," said Vasilio, darkly.

Liam nodded and leaned back onto his pillow. With his Eevee breathing quietly beside him and the city lights of Everspring cast weird shapes and shadows on the ceiling above, Liam slowly dropped off to sleep.


	43. Chapter 43

Tuesday, March 10, was Pokelympics. In the excitement of an entire day without classes, Liam had rushed to the bus stop just as the sun started peaking over the distant skyscrapers and stepped off at the stop for school just as the Dude began setting up his pushcart. Despite showing up neary 20 minutes earlier than usual, Liam found the school courtyard already bustling with activity. Some students were grooming and massaging their Pokemon, while others were talking excitedly in small groups. Liam did his best to look inconspicuous, and, peering around the courtyard, spotted Mori brushing Anatasia a little apart from the others.

"Morning, Mori," said Liam, "Hi Anastasia."

The Bouffalant lowed contentedly in reply. Liam noticed that Mori had added a small bow with a Gengar pattern to Anastasia's fluffy fro.

"I guess Professor Huang decided to let you use her in the contest," observed Liam. Mori nodded without looking up.

"Have you got any Pokeblocks in your case?" asked Mori with agitation.

"Uh, yeah," said Liam, reaching into his bag.

"Thanks," mumbled Mori as he handed her his Pokeblock case.

"You nervous?" said Liam.

Mori didn't answer. With fumbling hands, she emptied Liam's entire Pokeblock collection onto her lap and started feeding them to Anatasia. A few meters away, Liam noticed Rain offering her Aromatisse perfectly-baked poffins.

"You're taking the contest more seriously than I am," said Liam, "You think you have a chance to win?"

"I don't care about winning," said Mori firmly, "But this is a big chance for Anastasia to show what a great Pokemon she is."

The Bouffalant pawed the ground anxiously. Liam gave a knowing smile and took another look around. Arthur and Sylvia had just stepped through the gate, both wearing orange Team Balance jackets. Liam experienced a sudden moment of panic as he checked to make sure he was wearing his green Virtue jacket, but he had remembered it just before he set out that morning.

"Morning, Liam."

Timothy, the tall, black-haired 11th-grader, patted Liam on the shoulder and looked approvingly at his jacket.

"Glad you remembered," he said, "Werner would have made you go home to get it for sure. I forgot mine last year."

"What time does doubles start?" asked Liam.

"Not sure," said Timothy, "Probably later in the morning. By the way, do you need anything for the fight? Mega stones, Eviolite, Choice Band, anything like that?"

"I think I'm fine," said Liam, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Okay," said Timothy, "I've gotta go talk to Parker. Good luck!"

Liam watched Timothy jog off with more than a little trepidation. He hadn't really taken Pokelympics seriously until now, and the realization that he was supposed to bring honor to Team Virtue made his stomach lurch and his hands tremble. He wasn't looking forward to the lecture he would get from Werner, no matter how well he did.

The day's events were held at a small stadium about ten minutes' walk from the school. Eight rows of concrete bleachers surrounded the field on three sides, and a wide track circled the entire perimeter. Professor Wort had handed out the day's itinerary before setting out, and Liam was relieved to find that his three events were spaced relatively evenly throughout the morning. After the opening ceremonies, the singles tournament (where Rain would be his first opponent) was the first event, followed by the Pokemon Contest about an hour later. Doubles was the concluding event, and clearly the one that carried the most prestige.

Mori, as it turned out, was competing in all the same events as he was. Vasilio was skipping the Pokemon Contest to enter the surfing competition with a Basculin from his fish tank, an idea which made Liam shudder. They walked next to each other on the way to the stadium, but had to immediately separate as soon as they arrived. Liam was carrying the banner of Team Virtue in the opening ceremony, and so had to sit with Timothy and the younger members of the Team during Principal Kahakai's address to the student body.

Liam felt a little awkward as he marched around the track carrying the green banner of Team Virtue along with the team's few other members, but also a little proud. It was proof that he was already invested in Everspring—that he had gotten involved with something. Cass and Rebecca cheered him loudly as he passed where they sat in the stands, and that made him blush. As he finished his lap around the track, he spotted Werner, leaning on his cane, waiting for him on the platform where the flags would be displayed during the day's events.

"You're up against Jonah in the first round of doubles," said Werner tersely as Liam set down the flag, "His Hakamo-o will be a challenge for your team, but he's a sloppy strategist. Take advantage of that."

Liam nodded and made his way across the field to the three small courts where the singles tournament was being held.

Liam had, at least, come prepared for his battle with Rain. Beedrill had racked up plenty of secondhand battle experience in the past few days, and he had made another visit to the bootleg TM store by Tobias' gym the night before to pick up the final piece of his strategy: TM09, Venoshock. It wasn't an ideal move for a physical attacker like Beedrill, but it would have to do.

Rain seemed as friendly as always as she and Liam took their places on opposite ends of the battlefield. Liam, however, detected a smug confidence behind her polite smile.

"Ready, Liam?" she called.

"Sure," he said.

"Okay," she said, "Aromatisse, go!"

"Beedrill, go!"

Liam watched Rain's face carefully. She didn't stop smiling, but a blink and a slight twitch of her nose told Liam he had thrown her off balance.

"Beedrill, Toxic!" said Liam.

Rain's Aromatisse shuddered as the potent toxin set to work. Rain, one hand on her hip, shifted from one foot to the other in evident annoyance.

"Aromatisse, Echoed Voice!"

Liam did his best to stay focused and not celebrate prematurely, but a small smile cracked the corners of his mouth as the wave of sound brushed harmlessly over Beedrill.

"Beedrill, Venoshock!" he said, much louder than he intended.

Made doubly-potent by Toxic, Beedrill's attack drenched Aromatisse in a nasty, purplish liquid and caused the Pokemon to squeal in pain. Rain blinked again, but kept her cool.

"Aromatisse, Echoed Voice!"

This time, the wave of sound hit harder, but Beedrill still appeared unscathed.

"Beedrill," said Liam, his voice trembling, "Finish it off! Venoshock!"

Aromatisse tumbled face-forward into the pool of glistening venom at its feet. With a small intake of breath, Rain recalled Aromatisse and scowled. Her defeat lasted only for a moment, however.

"I didn't know you had a Beedrill, Liam," she said, forcing a smile as she tied her dyed auburn hair into a ponytail, "Guess you really wanted to win. It's not over, though."

With a movement so stiff and practiced it looked almost military, Rain sent Braixen out onto the field.

"I didn't know you had a Braixen," muttered Liam, realizing the battle was far from over. "Beedrill, Toxic!"

"Braixen, Fire Spin!"

As bright flames encircled his Pokemon, Liam realized that he should have withdrawn Beedrill while he had the chance.

"Beedrill, Venoshock!" said Liam, hoping to damage the opposing Pokemon as much as possible before losing his own.

"Braixen, Psybeam!" said Rain.

Beedrill collapsed to the ground. Braixen, although badly poisoned, still looked ready for more. Liam pondered his options. Sneasel had an obvious type disadvantage, and while it could easily get off the first attack, he didn't want to risk getting burned or trapped in by Fire Spin. Murkrow was his last line of defense—his strongest Pokemon for when all else failed.

"Eevee," said Liam, imagining Werner scolding him as he did so, "You can do this."

Rain's left eyebrow gave a confused twitch as she looked at Liam's Pokemon. Liam shrugged sheepishly.

"Braixen," said Rain, "Fire Spin!"

"Eevee, use Return!"

As Braixen's flames singed its fur, Eevee bounding forward and dived into the fox-like Pokemon. The sharp snap of the two Pokemon colliding was so pronounced Liam was sure Eevee had landed a critical hit."

"Braixen," said Rain, in obvious frustration, "Lucky Chant."

But Eevee's first attack had already sealed its fate. A second Return cleared it from the battlefield on the next turn, and Liam chuckled as Eevee celebrated its victory by turning around in circles.  
Several younger students, including the middle-schoolers from Team Virtue, had now gathered around Liam and Rain to watch their match. Rain seemed agitated by the attention, but kept her cool.

"Go, Deerling!"

Despite being born in Unova, Liam had never seen a Deerling before, and he had to confess he wasn't exactly sure about its typing. Liam's mental version of Werner scolded him for his ignorance.

"Deerling, Jump Kick!" said Rain.

Liam winced for his Pokemon. Deerling's hooves sent Eevee tumbling, and after one attempt to crawl back onto its feet, Eevee gave a small moan and went limp. Liam recalled Eevee and whispered an apology to its Pokeball before returning it to his belt.

"Murkrow," Liam said, "Let's finish this!"

With a gleeful caw, Murkrow rose ominously into the air.

"Murkrow, Wing Attack!"

"Jump Kick, Deerling!" said Rain.

But Liam could hear in Rain's voice that the battle was already his. Deerling's attack found it mark, but it didn't matter. Another Wing Attack from Murkrow finished the faun-like Pokemon, and as Murkrow starting doing victory laps in the air above, Liam felt someone flick him hard on the right arm.

"Ow," he said.

"Good job, dork," said Mori, "Jonah kicked my butt, but you beating Rain makes this whole stupid day worth it."

By the time Rain was walking across the field to shake Liam's hand, she was smiling politely again.

"Your Murkrow is very strong," said Rain.

"Thanks," said Liam, "This was fun."

Rain nodded, but Liam felt confident she didn't mean it.

Liam's next battle was against Stephanie, and didn't go nearly as well. Her Lucario swept his entire time, and Mori accused him of spending more time checking out Stephanie than paying attention to the battle. Liam mentally conceded her point.

The singles tournament ended with an exciting battle between Ruth and Cass. Liam cheered on Ruth with the rest of her classmates and some of the other students from Ferrum, while the other students supported Cass with the now-familiar stomp-stomp-clap rhythm. When Ruth's Mega Blaziken landed the winning blow on Cass's Gastrodon, Cas was the first one to stagger over and congratulate her. Liam truly felt the force of Taylor's observation that Cass was out of his league as the entire high school crowded around to celebrate her second-place win. However, he eagerly joined in the crowd of students that carried Ruth onstage to receive her medal from Principal Kahakai. He was proud of Ruth, and proud to be her classmate.


	44. Chapter 44

Whenever he didn't have an event, Liam sat with whatever friends he could find in the concrete stands and watched the competitions as they played out below. He and Mori kept up snide commentary over Vasilio's foray into Pokemon Surfing, but they applauded as loudly and obnoxiously as they could when he took took the podium soaked head to foot to accept his medal for third place. Liam and Eevee didn't make it beyond the first round of the Pokemon Contest, but Mori and Anastasia reached the semifinals, and she was almost jubilant as she showed Liam the ribbons for Coolness and Toughness Anastasia had won in the earlier rounds.

Unlike single battles, which included the entire high school, double battles were divided into two different tournaments: one for 11th and 12th grade and another for underclassmen. The final four from each tournament would then compete in an overall contest to crown a school-wide winner. Liam's battle against Jonah proved as difficult as he had feared. With a team comprised entirely of Dark-type Pokemon, Liam managed to defeat Jonah's Hakamo-o and Steenee by a hair, and only Murkrow's huge advantage in level really pulled him through. His next battle was against Sylvia, and despite all Werner's words about upholding the honor of Team Virtue burning in the back of his mind, Liam never believed he could win against her. Timothy fared slightly better, reaching the finals in the upperclassmen's league before being knocked out against Sylvia in the first combined round.

Cass ultimately took first place in the doubles tournament, with Sylvia and Arthur taking second and third. To Liam's surprise, Ruth hadn't even entered the competition, choosing instead to cheer on Sylvia, Stephanie, and Rain from the sidelines. Liam puzzled over this for a long time, but finally concluded that Ruth was prioritizing her friendships over her personal achievements by giving her classmates a chance to win as well. Liam recalled the way Ruth shuddered whenever the drama wars of middle school were mentioned. Ruth clearly had no intention of reliving them.

After the closing ceremonies, Liam's entire class went out for burgers at a Unovan fast food restaurant to celebrate Ruth and Sylvia's wins. Pokelympics was only a half-day event, and they were all starving. They settled into a small table, laughing and reminiscing about the morning as they helped themselves freely to each other's food. Liam, Vasilio, and Jonah entertained and disgusted the girls with the very unhygienic ritual of biting everyone's medals and declaring that Ruth's gold medal tasted the best. Stephanie, with frequent input from Sylvia, Rain, and Vasilio, recounted and analyzed every battle in minute detail, always finding something to praise in the actions of her classmates and their Pokemon. Mori alone hung back from the fun, absorbed in texting furtively with the cellphone in her lap. Liam suspected she was talking to Dustin, taking advantage of the few hours away from home and her parents' watchful eyes.

As noon turned into mid-afternoon and exhaustion gradually replaced jubilation, Sylvia finally said what everyone was thinking:

"I'm gonna go home and take a nap."

"Good idea," said Stephanie with an elegant yawn.

Mori was the last to leave the table and follow her classmates out into the bright afternoon sun. She had pocketed her phone at last, and leaned lazily against Vasilio as they waited for a taxi. While they waited, Liam glanced over at Rain, and noticed that she was standing a little apart from everyone else and staring at her shoes. Not really knowing what made him do it, Liam walked over to her.

"Uh, Rain," began Liam awkwardly.

"Yeah," she replied pleasantly, "What is it?"

The glum expression from just a moment ago had vanished, but Liam felt the words tumbling out of his mouth even before he knew what he was saying.

"I'm… uh, I'm sorry," he stuttered, carefully avoiding Rain's eyes, "I mean, bringing a new Pokemon to our battle was cheap. You would have won, if I hadn't—"

"It's okay," said Rain, "I beat you a lot this semester, you needed your—"

"I know, but," continued Liam, struggling for the right words, "I know you don't get

to win a lot. And… I'm sorry for taking away a chance just because I could."

Rain looked at Liam with a curious expression. For a split second, Liam thought he

saw a hint of the pain and hurt of always coming behind Sylvia and Ruth bubble to the surface, but then it was gone, and Rain was smiling at him with a playful expression.

"I would have done the same thing," she said, "Oh, and your taxi is here. See you tomorrow."

"Bye," mumbled Liam.

Liam climbed into the cramped back seat of the taxi (Mori had taken the front) with an odd feeling in his stomach. Beating Rain didn't feel as satisfying now as it had that morning. It felt almost cruel, and Liam was ashamed that he had wanted to put Rain in her place. Liam understood why Mori couldn't stand Rain, but Liam also felt sorry for her. Rain measured herself against Ruth, Sylvia, and even Stephanie, and no matter how hard she worked, she would never surpass any of them. Ruth's humility belied the fact she was an exceptional student and incredibly skilled trainer. Sylvia was a natural leader: easy-going, hardworking, popular without even trying. Stephanie was dedicated, focused, intelligent, and effortlessly elegant. Mori, with her indifferent attitude towards school and constant boy troubles, was the one person that made Rain feel like she wasn't a failure.

Vasilio had to shake Liam and Mori awake as the taxi pulled up to New Court's main gate. After groggily waving goodbye to his friends, Liam started wearily back to the tall, gray buildings of White Gardens. He was glad to have spent the day with his classmates—classmates that he liked, and that liked him—but the emotional high always came with a crash. He was glad to be going home.


	45. Chapter 45

The month of March kept Liam busy. The day after Pokelympics, Coach Tang reassigned partners in Battle Class, pitting Liam against Jonah for the rest of the semester. Jonah turned out to be a highly competitive partner, but he balanced out his aggressiveness in battle with his easygoing attitude outside of it, and Liam quickly decided he was an enormous improvement over Rain. Professor Wort rotated the desk partners in PokeBiology the same week, putting Liam and Mori in a very precarious academic alliance. Mori seemed just as lost as he was as Liam took confused notes on Mega Evolution, but Professor Wort's deep-voiced explanations and firm encouragement helped him keep up—if just barely.

After Mori's success with Anatasia, Professor Huang brought in more abandoned Pokemon from the Orphanage for the class to work with in preparation for the upcoming school service trip. Liam's confidence in interacting with strange Pokemon gradually grew, but Mori continued to dote on Anatasia, to the point where Professor Huang had to limit the amount of time she spent grooming the Bouffalant in each class. Outside of class, Mori spent more and more lunchtimes with Dustin and his crew. She never acknowledged this change to Vasilio or Liam, and neither mentioned it to her. Vasilio continued to roll his eyes darkly every time Mori left for lunch with Dustin, but Liam was starting to wonder just how much of his friend's disapproval came from concern for Mori, and how much of it was jealousy.

Liam's own relationship prospects remained frustratingly static. Although Taylor continued to urge him to ask Cass to Spring Banquet, he still felt unsure. Cass hadn't asked Liam to hang out outside of school since the incident at the Woven Bowl. Liam knew why on an intellectual level: with Spring Banquet fast approaching, Cass and the other members of student council were consumed with making preparations. However, it still made his heart twinge whenever Cass excused herself mid-sentence because she had some detail to work out with Arthur or Sylvia. Sylvia took the pressure in stride, but Arthur seemed to be crumbling under it. Whenever Liam passed Arthur at lunch, he saw him hunched over a stack of school papers with a pencil behind his ear, biting his lip in concentration. Arthur had even taken to wearing his glasses—something he studiously avoided whenever he could manage it. Liam felt sorry for him, but he was beginning to feel the crunch of the final quarter himself. His grades were slipping, especially in Werner's class. With the threat of Team Power dissipated, Liam began to find Werner's lectures (and even the after school Team Virtue meetings) as tedious as before. But, he realized, he cared too much about Werner's good opinion to give up on either.

Late in March, as Liam was sitting in Miss Snyder's office with Cass and Sylvia during morning break, Taylor burst into the office with a triumphant expression and a piece of paper clutched in his left hand.

"I've got it!" he announced.

"Got what?" asked Cass.

Miss Snyder, who was filling out forms at her desk, snorted.

"I Am Munchlax's setlist for Spring Banquet," he explained, holding the paper out triumphantly.

"We'll see about that," said Sylvia, taking the paper from his hands and holding it so she and Cass could peruse it together.

"Viva La Vida..." she read, "Marching Bands of Castelia… Paper Planes…"

"Yess!" said Cass, pumping her fist.

"Is Famous Last Words school-appropriate?" asked Sylvia, looking up a Taylor suspiciously from behind her round glasses.

"Yeah," said Taylor, pushing a long strand of black hair carelessly from his face, "Obviously."

"Mmhmm," said Sylvia, "Let's see… Only One… Supermassive Black Hole…"

"You're picking good ones, Taylor," said Cass, "You guys can actually play all of these, right?"

Taylor shrugged.

"Yeah. Well, most of 'em."

"Hope it doesn't take my brother too much longer to learn the rest," said Sylvia, "Fidelity, and... When You Were Young."

Sylvia looked over at Cass.

"They all sound good to me," said Cass, "You wanna sign off on it, Sylvia?"

"Sure," she said, "Congratulations, Taylor, your songs are all approved."

"Nice," said Taylor, "Now, uh, can I have the paper back? It's the only copy of the list I got."

Liam laughed, and watched in amusement as Sylvia rapidly copied the list into her notebook with her neat and steady hand before handing it back to Taylor.

"I think that's the first actual secretary thing I've seen you do since I got here, Sylv," teased Liam as Taylor left.

"Oh thanks, Liam," replied Syliva sarcastically, "Well, that's one less thing for us to worry about. Well, sort of. Now I'm worried about how many of those songs my brother actually knows. I'll ask him at lunch."

"I'm just excited we're getting so many non-street songs as freebies," said Cass cheerfully, "And I'm super excited for Paper Planes—it's basically my favorite song."

"Are you planning on going, Liam?" asked Sylvia. Liam thought there was something behind the question, but wasn't sure what.

"I think so," said Liam, a little suspiciously. He did his best not to glance at Cass.

"I'm not trying to pry," said Sylvia, with a toothy smile, "I just wanted to let you know we're starting to sell tickets next week, so bring some extra money."

Liam nodded. He thought he saw a meaningful glance pass between Cass and Sylvia, but he couldn't be sure. The bell rang, and they all started making their way to their next classes without another word.

Mori arrived at Battle Class that afternoon with a glowing expression. Liam was fairly certain he knew what it meant, and he didn't have to ask.

"Dustin asked me to Banquet," she said, almost trembling with excitement.

"Awesome," said Liam, feeling some genuine pleasure at seeing her so happy, "So it's time to find out whether they make Gengar-print dresses now, right?"

Mori gave him a flick.

"Where's Vasi?" she asked, "I wanna let him know too."

They both looked around the school atrium and spotted Vasilio talking in a low voice with Rebecca. Mori's eyes narrowed slightly as she saw them, but her ebullient expression quickly returned and she almost skipped over to Vasilio and got his attention by punching him as hard as she could on his left shoulder.

"Ow!" said Vasilio, "Mori, what are you—"

"Dustin asked me to Banquet," she said proudly.

"And that's a reason to Mega Punch me?" said Vasilio, rubbing his shoulder sullenly. Rebecca, however, seemed very pleased by the news.

"That's great," she said, giving Mori a hug that, to Liam's surprise, she eagerly reciprocated.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, who was still rubbing his shoulder, "Real great."

"You shouldn't act jealous in front of your date," said Mori, giving Vasilio a flick.

"Mmhmm," mumbled Vasilio, refusing to take the bait.

"Now we just need to get Liam a date," said Mori, looking around the atrium, "Ooh, Cass is right over there. Why don't you just—"

"Shhh," said Liam, trying to cover Mori's mouth as she laughed.

"Liam," said Rebecca, "If you really want to, I can be like a go-between—"

"Stop!" said Liam, "Just… let me make my own decisions."

Vasilio snorted. Rebecca seemed inclined to push the issue, but Coach Tang's whistle signaled the start of class, and Liam took the opportunity to run off in search of his battle partner and escape the good intentions of his friends.


	46. Chapter 46

Liam walked past the small table student government set up in the hall to sell tickets to Spring Banquet about a dozen times every day, but always did his best not to make eye contact. It wasn't just that he still wasn't sure if he was going—buying tickets would involve choosing between buying just one ticket or a pair, and having to explain either decision to whoever he bought the tickets from. And the person behind the desk was usually Cass.

Fortunately, Liam had something to take his mind off the ever-complicated issue of Spring Banquet: the high school Village Trip. This week-long service trip to a location in rural Nanzo was, according to Vasilio, a tradition as old as Everspring International Pokemon Academy itself. Apart from Werner, who explained (very sensibly) that, "anyone who can remember two Pokemon Wars is too old to go on a ten hour bus trip with teenagers," most of the teachers were going as well.

"This is an important part of your education," explained Miss Snyder to their homeroom as she handed out permission slips, "A chance to get real world experience and do some real service. You know, make yourselves useful for once."

The older students seemed full of stories about Village Trips from years past. During Arthur's freshman year, the seniors had skinned and roasted an entire Gogoat—a delicacy in rural Nanzo— to share with their local hosts. The year before that, Werner (on what turned out to be his final Village Trip) had told harrowing tales from the Second Pokemon War and even demonstrated some of the techniques used by Nanzonese guerillas and their Pokemon against the soldiers of Imperial Kanto. The seniors had all been sworn to secrecy, but Taylor remembered the rumor that made the rounds when he was in middle school that Werner could kill someone using a Qwilfish and a bamboo rod.

There was an assembly on the Friday before the trip in the school atrium. Liam sat with Vasilio and Taylor—Mori was sitting with Dustin and his friends further up—and listened as Arthur and Miss Snyder explained the rules and schedule and packing list for the trip.

"Remember that I do not guarantee your first choice for your service group," said Miss Snyder, holding up one of the permission forms she had handed out earlier in the week, "So I don't want anyone coming to me asking why you didn't get to be in the group with your friends. I do the best I can. No whining."

Several students raised their hands at this.

"If your question begins with 'what if,' put your hands down," said Miss Snyder pointedly.

All the hands that had just been raised were sheepishly lowered as the surrounding students laughed. Not dealing with "what if" questions was a famous maxim of Ms. Snyder's. Liam hadn't raised his hand, but he did secretly worry that he would be assigned to a team without Vasilio or Mori to talk to. He and Vasi had both put "Manual Labor," as their first choice, although they weren't sure quite what that would entail.

"We're spending three full days at the Orphanage," continued Miss Snyder, "It's a ten hour trip to Azurite Town, so bring plenty of snacks for the journey there and back."

Liam knew that Vasilio and Taylor were bringing their guitars, both to pass the time on the long ride and to lead a few songs in the evening meetings. Liam was content to stock his iPod with CDs he had picked up at the bootleg store near Bookwood Street. Liam had been traveling all his life, and he valued long trips as an opportunity to be alone with his thoughts and his music. This one would be about as long as the flight from Goldenrod City to Phenac International Airport in Orre, the longest stretch on the journey his family occasionally made back to Unova in the summer. Liam was looking forward to it. Being in one place for too long made him antsy. He wanted to leave Everspring behind for a while.

Liam spent that Sunday night pacing his room with vague intentions of eventually packing everything he needed. Despite being an experienced traveler, Liam never could decide exactly what to bring on a trip. He knew his mother considered a toothbrush, deodorant, and a Full Restore to be the essentials, but Liam worried more about his headphones breaking than whether his teeth were clean. He ultimately went to bed half-packed and spent the next morning frightening the family's pet Furfrou by rocketing around the house in search of things he probably should have found the night before.

When he arrived at the school bus stop, Liam noticed that the line for the Dude's breakfast cart was longer than usual. Clearly the prospect of a long trip put a hearty breakfast in high demand. Liam stepped into line behind Liz and ended up ordering two rice cakes—one with a sweet peanut sauce, the other with savory pickled vegetables—under the pretense of having one for breakfast and one for lunch.

He had eaten them both before he set foot on the bus.

As Liam made his way to the large bus that was parked right outside the school gate, he noticed Professor Wort, who was overseeing the loading of the larger luggage into the compartment beneath the bus, beckoning him over.

"Mr. Holbrook," said Wort, "This should be of interest to you."

Wort handed him a copy of Nanzo Daily, the provincial newspaper, and pointed a long, thick finger at an article on the second page with the title "New Pokemon Species Described in Prosperity Town." It read as follows:

_Researchers at Nanzo Normal University announced yesterday the discovery of a previously undescribed species of Pokemon in Prosperity Town. The Pokemon, provisionally named "Pangshi" because of its resemblance to the Jiangshi of folklore, is believed to be related to Pangoro. It's exact relationship is, however, not yet known._

"_Pangshi possesses a rare Ghost/Fighting typing," explained Dr. Zhu of Nanzo Normal University's Pokebiology department, "It may be a regional variation of Pangoro, or possibly a split evolution of Pancham."_

_Although the Pokemon is not believed to pose any threat to humans, trainers have not been allowed into Prosperity Town since the discovery. According to Dr. Zhu, this is to protect the Pangshi, as the group in Prosperity Town is the only known population in existence. Dr. Zhu credits the biodiversity of the Nanzo region for the find._

"_With over 500 known native species of Pokemon, discovering a new species is not too surprising," said Dr. Zhu, "Pollution and habitat destruction, especially around South Cloud Lake, remain a key concern for Pokemon researchers such as myself, but the discovery of Pangshi proves that Nanzo is still an important region for learning about Pokemon and its biodiversity is worth preserving."_

"Miss Thibault told me about your unusual encounter over New Year's in Prosperity Town," explained Wort, stroking his black beard thoughtfully, "It seems you almost met with a Pokemon new to science."

"Yeah," said Liam, remembering Mori waking him up in the middle of the night and the otherworldly thumping and buzzing.

"You can keep that newspaper," said Wort, "I'm sure your classmates would be interested in it as well."

Liam thanked Wort and continued to re-read the article as he sat down on the curb to munch on his breakfast. After a few minutes, he spotted Vasilio heading his way. His friend's white hair was unusually messy, and he was lugging a solid black guitar case alongside him.

"Morning, Vasi," said Liam, holding up the newspaper, "Check this out."

Vasilio set down his guitar case wearily and took the newspaper from Liam. His eyes darted with interest over the article, but Liam was distracted by something else he hadn't noticed on the main page.

"So, not Nanzonese Spoink," said Vasilio, looking up with a grin, "That's good."

"Wait a second," said Liam, grabbing the newspaper back from Vasilio and turning over to the back page. In the small column in the lower right-hand corner, he read the following:

_Temple of Virtue in Oldmist Destroyed by Fire. A fire completely destroyed the historic Temple of Virtue in Oldmist Town on Sunday night. The blaze, suspected to be an act of arson, began at around 9:00PM and continued into the early morning before the fire department brought it under control. No one was injured, but the temple monks report that dozens of historical artifacts, including a thousand-year-old copy of the Analects, were lost in the fire. _

"They don't mention Team Power," said Liam, handing the paper back to Vasilio, who began reading the front page intently, "but I don't think they had to."

"Nanzo Daily's a government newspaper," said Vasilio as he skimmed the article, "They don't want to give Team Power the publicity. But this had to have been them. And it means they're done. They've finished what they started back in Jadetower three months ago."

There was a pause.

"So, what now?" asked Liam.

Vasilio shook his head.

"We wait, and don't worry too much," he said with a shrug, "It's still Claire. I don't think she'll be able to do much more than start a few fires."

Liam chuckled. Vasilio, he reasoned, was right. Aside from a few stunts, Claire and her Team Power grunts had achieved very little, and always scattered whenever they faced any serious opposition. Silas and his black Charizard were probably already on their way to Oldmist, and Team Power was on the run again. They were bullies, but, as Werner continually reminded him, they were also cowards.

After watching Vasilio store his guitar case under the bus, Liam climbed up the steep stairs to the bus's main compartment and settled into a seat by himself on the second row. Liam hadn't made arrangements to sit with anyone, intent as he was on spending the trip listening to his iPod and enjoying the scenery. I Am Munchlax planned to sit together near the back, and that Mori would probably spend the trip in the back of the bus with Dustin and his friends. All this gave Liam a convenient excuse to sit by himself. He gave the slightest of nods to his friends as they passed him one by one, but didn't take off his headphones. When Cass passed by, however, she stopped and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Anyone sitting here?" she asked pleasantly.

"Uh, no," said Liam, taking his headphones off awkwardly, "but I won't be very interesting to sit next to. I mean, I'm just gonna be listening to music the whole time, so—"

"Oh, okay," said Cass, "I'll leave you to your music."

"Thanks," said Liam, watching Cass hobble to the seat next to Liz about halfway back. Suddenly, Liam felt the painful sting of a very hard flick on his right shoulder.

"Ow!"

Mori was standing over him, glaring at him with her arms crossed. Misdreavus was hovering menacingly above her right ear.

"That was stupid," she said seriously, "You hurt her feelings."

Liam tried to meet Mori's intense gaze, but quickly looked away.

"I didn't… I mean, that wasn't what I…" mumbled Liam, looking desperately around for some escape from Mori's wrath, "I just wasn't planning to sit with anyone, and…"

Mori leaned over and lowered her voice to a dangerous whisper.

"If you would rather listen to music than talk to the girl you like, then you don't really like her as much as you think," she said, "Think about that."

And without a backward glance, Mori strode angrily to the back of the bus where Dustin and his crew were waiting, followed by her floating Misdreavous. Liam sat trembling in his seat for a long time, torn between angrily rejecting Mori's words and acknowledging that he may have upset the girl he cared about the most. As the bus jerked away from the school and Miss Snyder stood up to take roll, Liam put his headphones back on and stared out the window. He was afraid—very afraid—that Mori was right and he had just blown his chances with Cass completely with a few thoughtless words. He did his best to concentrate on the music and the traffic outside, but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling of emptiness in his stomach.

Mori was right—about one thing, at least. He didn't deserve Cass.

The bus left Everspring by the same route Liam and his friends had taken during New Year's break on their eventful and unexpectedly short trip to Jadetower City, but quickly turned off the road to Prosperity Town and headed further east. The scenery reminded him of the day they spent walking from the Pokemon Center at the southern end of South Cloud Lake; the road carved its way through deep valleys with terraced rice fields on either side and along the sides of steep hills with small villages far below. The bus kept to the main highway for the first few hours, and Liam remarked how strangely empty it was. Nanzo was still a developing region, and Liam reasoned that the government must have constructed these wide highways out of anticipation rather than immediate necessity. They passed through what seemed like dozens of mountain tunnels, and each time everyone on the bus (aside from Miss Snyder, who considered it a pointless exercise) held their breath for as long as they could.

After a few hours, the bus pulled off the main highway and into a shabby roadside stop with a small store and a few restaurants. Most of the students went to get noodles at one of the packed restaurants, but Liam satisfied himself with a large pack of dried, seasoned meat from shop. Within an hour, they were moving again, and instead of returning to the wide highway they began a winding journey further into rural Nanzo. The buzz of chatting voices gradually faded into whispers and murmurs as the afternoon wore on. Liam continued to look out at the passing mountains and distant villages of mud-brick houses with sloping tiled roofs, admiring the rustic beauty of Nanzo that reminded him, in a way, of Johto's green forests and idyllic traditional villages.

The bus stopped at a restaurant in a small town around 6. Up close, Liam observed that this place, at least, wasn't as idyllic as it appeared from a distance, with an odd mixture of plain concrete buildings and crumbling homes in the traditional style. The main road through the town was unpaved and uneven. A crowd of local farmers and townspeople in faded blue and gray jackets and old-fashioned caps gathered to stare at their foreign visitors, but the owner of the restaurant seemed to be expecting them, and ushered them into a dining room with four tables piled with food.

"Are we there yet?" Liam asked Vasilio as they sat down together.

"Nope, this is just dinner," said Vasilio, eagerly adding rice to his bowl, "I think we've still got like 3 hours to go."

Liam tried to catch a glance of Cass as they ate, but she was sitting at a distant table with the other members of the student council, and she didn't look over at him. After his light lunch, Liam gorged himself on rice, meat, vegetables, and steamed buns. He joined in the mock toasts—made with green tea poured into the little glasses intended for strong local liquor—that seemed to happen on the slightest pretense, but otherwise he didn't say much. To his surprise, he was already ready for the journey to be over.

"To Vasi's Smoochum!" shouted Taylor, lifting his glass of tea over the now mostly empty table, "Ganbei!"

"What, you looking for a third kiss?" mumbled Vasilio.

Liam snorted. The rest of the table clinked their glasses together.

"You have clearly all had enough to eat," said Wort, raising his thick, dark eyebrows, "Time to get back on the bus."

The final leg of the journey was made in the dark. The sun had set as they were eating, and they trundled along a narrow country road without being able to see any further than the trees that lined it on either side. Liam's eyelids began to get heavy. Just as he felt himself drifting off to sleep, he noticed that Miss Snyder was tapping him on the shoulder. Liam took off his headphones.

"Grace is coming to sit up here," she whispered, "She's carsick."

Liam nodded, and a moment later Mori, looking both groggy and more than a little sick, climbed clumsily into the window seat next to him.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"You don't look good," said Liam.

"Shut up," said Mori, leaning back and closing her eyes.

Liam put his headphones back on, leaning slightly to the right so he could look out at the dirt road illuminated by the bus' headlights. He watched the road ahead for a few minutes, jolting slightly with each bump in the road. Just as he felt himself drifting off to sleep again, however, he felt something on his shoulder.

Mori had fallen asleep in the chair next to him, and her head was now resting snugly against his collarbone. Her mouth was hanging open, and Liam could see a bit of drool on the corner of her lip. His heart started pounding. He wasn't sure what he should do. He didn't want to wake Mori up by pushing her off—both because she clearly needed the sleep and because having the prettiest girl in school laying her head of his shoulder wasn't something that happened to him everyday. On the other hand, Liam worried about what Mori would do if a sudden jolt of the bus woke her and she found herself sleeping on his shoulder, or if someone else mentioned it to her afterwards. Liam had already earned her fury once today, and he didn't want to repeat the experience. After several long, agonizing minutes, Liam decided to let her sleep. If she woke up, he would pretend that he had been asleep to, and hadn't noticed her leaning on his shoulder. Liam closed his eyes and forgot everything but the feeling of Mori's soft black hair brushing against him and the rumbling of the bus over the uneven dirt road.


	47. Chapter 47

Liam awoke to a sudden flash as the overhead lights on the bus turned on. He rubbed his eyes and saw Mori looking out the window in the seat next to him.

"Are we here?" he asked.

"If you mean 'are we here at the Orphanage,' then yes," said Mori. She seemed much more awake than he was, but she still looked a little sick.

"You fell asleep and started drooling on my shoulder," Mori added.

Liam blinked, but decided not to contradict her.

"Sorry," he said. Mori shrugged.

"You drool a lot."

Despite his exhaustion, Liam gave a chuckle.

"C'mon," said Mori, giving him a flick, "Let's get off this bus, I wanna sleep."

With his backpack on only one shoulder, Liam climbed off the bus and looked around. They were parked in front of a dormitory-style building—perhaps four stories high—with steep hills rising behind it. Apart from the yellowish glow emanating from its windows and doorways, the entire place was dark. Looking back the way (he assumed) the bus had come, Liam saw a steep, paved path winding its way down into the darkness below. Overhead, stars glowed and shimmered in a way that reminded Liam of the clear skies of Johto.

A tall, wiry foreigner with a cheerful face and stubbly beard was overseeing the unloading of the bus and directing the students to their rooms. Next to him, an elderly Marowak peered at the students and their luggage suspiciously. As Liam hadn't brought any heavy luggage, he followed after the other male students and teachers up the stairs of the building to the second-floor landing. The building was arranged in an L shape, with a landing on each floor overlooking the concrete courtyard below in the style typical of more dated structures in Nanzo. The boys were sleeping on the second floor, and the girls on the third. Liam followed Professor Rollon, the stocky, spiky-haired literature teacher, into a room with six wooden beds.

None of them had even a scrap of bedding.

"I hope you're ready to rough it, gentlemen," said Professor Rollon, setting down his hiker's backpack and tossing a sleeping bag onto the empty bed, "Breakfast is at 7:00 AM."

"Guess they haven't discovered mattresses in Azurite Town yet," said Taylor, tossing his own sleeping bag onto the bed farthest from the door.

Liam claimed the bed next to Taylor, and they were soon joined the room by Vasilio. August, the curly-haired junior that had asked Stephanie to Banquet, and Jay, Rain's boyfriend, took the two remaining beds closest to the door. Liam looked apprehensively at the wooden boards he was expected to sleep on.

"Which do you think are softer, the boards or the floor?" Liam mumbled to Vasilio.

Vasilio knocked on the boards of his own bed.

"Come in!" said Taylor. In their exhaustion, this seemed like a hilarious joke.

"Alright, I'm turning off the lights," said Professor Rollon, "And hey: no talking. I want to sleep."

Liam rolled out his own sleeping bag onto his empty bed as Rollon flipped off the lights. Fumbling around in the dark, Liam managed to undress and climb into it. He instantly regretted it: the room was hot and humid, and the padding of the sleeping bag did little to make sleeping on a board more comfortable. In the bed next to him, Liam heard Vasilio fluffing his pillow.

"Let's talk about girls," came Taylor's voice through the darkness. The other guys in the room snorted and sniggered.

"Talk about going to sleep," said Rollon, "That's your final warning, Taylor."

"Dang it," said Taylor.

Liam chuckled, and did his best to get into a position where he wasn't crushing his arms against the hard wooden boards. Despite his tiredness, he couldn't fall asleep. Liam had never slept anywhere as uncomfortable as this, and every small creak and rustle chased away any drowsiness that had started to build up. Eventually, Liam climbed out his sleeping bag and tossed it off the bed. Next to him, he heard Taylor give a choking snore.

Liam wasn't sure how or when or if he had really fallen asleep, but he knew he wasn't ready to wake up when Professor Rollon 's alarm went off the next morning and he flipped on the lights.

"Oh, you're kidding," groaned Vasilio.

"Up you get," said Rollon, who sounded about as tired as Liam felt, "If you miss breakfast, don't blame me."

Liam shook himself and rubbed his eyes. He felt as if he could have finally slept soundly now that he couldn't sleep for the next few hours, but he managed to drag himself out of bed, change clothes, and make his way down to breakfast. They ate in a meeting room on the second floor, around the corner from where they slept and connected, Liam observed, to the kitchen. Liam wasn't a great believer in breakfast, and apart from a fried dough stick smothered in peanut sauce and wrapped in a rice cake by the expert hands of the Dude, Liam didn't think much of Nanzo's take on the meal. He watched as Vasilio and Taylor ate spoonfuls of rice porridge and peeled boiled eggs, but didn't eat anything himself.

At around 7:30, Miss Snyder and Professor Wort stood up at the front of the room with the tall, cheerful man from the night before and his dour-looking Marowak. He introduced himself as Mr. Wyngard, the director of the Pokemon Orphanage.

"We're very excited to have you all here," he said, beaming, "We've heard a lot of good things about your school. I think we can get a lot done this week if we work together. I just want to remind you of two things. First, no taking pictures. Second, be careful and gentle when handling Pokemon. Many of our orphan Pokemon are injured, disabled, or elderly. They'll be eager to play and visit, just be considerate. Miss Snyder."

Miss Snyder then read out the final team assignments. To Liam's relief, he and Vasilio had both been put on the manual labor team. Mori, on the other hand, had been assigned to the group that would spend the week helping at the elderly village adjacent to the Orphanage. Liam wondered how she would react to this assignment, but she was looking at Dustin when her name was read out, and Liam couldn't read her expression.

Professor Rollon, Liam, Vasilio, and six or seven other students followed Mr. Wyngard and his Marowak down the stairs and out into the plain concrete yard where their bus had parked the night before. It had been almost deserted then, but this morning it was bustling with Pokemon. Many of them, Liam observed, had disabilities or deformities of some kind, much like the Pokemon that worked at the Woven Bowl. Liam remembered what Cass had said about the strong prejudice against such Pokemon (and people) in Nanzo, and wondered how many of these Pokemon had been genuinely orphaned, and how many had been abandoned.

The morning light also gave Liam his first look at the surrounding countryside, and Liam saw that the Orphanage was perched on the side of a steep hill with terraced farms all around it. It was far from the only building; to his left, Liam saw winding stone steps leading down several landings of simple houses built along the uneven contour of the hillside. This, Liam guessed, was the elderly village where one of the other teams would be working. There were also a few farmer's houses and a separate apartment where Mr. Wyngard and his family lived. The rugged terrain on every side made it difficult for Liam to see far, but the blueish outlines of other tall hills in the distance told him this part of Nanzo was just as mountainous.

Mr. Wyngard led their group to an odd structure adjacent to the building where they slept. It reminded Liam of the covered bike sheds he had seen in Nanzo, with a metal roof and nothing but rusty metal bars for walls. Mr. Wyngard explained that their group would be repainting the shed and its rusty bars for the next three days, a task Liam felt more than up to. He had been slightly dreading the idea of having to interact with strange people or Pokemon, and painting old, rusty bars with Vasilio sounded like just the kind of safe, mindless activity he was hoping for. Assisted by their Pokemon, Liam and his group had soon started scraping the rust off the lower bars with sandpaper. He and Vasilio worked close by each other, listening to Rise Against and Yellowcard on the small, battery-powered speaker Vasilio had brought. Apart from companionship, Liam's Pokemon provided little to the project. Sneasel sat perched on Liam's shoulder, peering suspiciously around at its new surroundings, while Eevee chased Vasilio's Amaura playfully over the concrete floor. Liam hadn't taken out Murkrow—he thought being in a cage, even a very large one, wouldn't bring back pleasant memories.

The work was dull, but it passed quickly. Before Liam knew it, it was lunchtime, and he and Vasilio were washing their hands and marking their way back up to the second floor room from the morning. They grabbed their lunch—a bowl of rice with mixed vegetables—and sat down with Mori, who was eagerly stuffing her face.

"Hi guyf," she said through a mouth full of rice.

"Hungry?" asked Liam with a smirk.

Mori flicked his arm and swallowed.

"I've been looking after old people and their Pokemon all morning," she protested, "So yes, I am hungry."

"Are you… liking it?" said Liam.

"Oh yeah," said Mori, "Believe or not, I like hanging out with old people. They're sweet, and they don't assume you're trouble just because you're a teenager."

"I don't think that's the only reason people assume you're trouble," mumbled Vasilio.

"Anyways, what were you guys doing?" Mori asked brightly.

Liam, a little taken aback by Mori's chipper mood, explained the painting job.

"Sounds boring," said Mori, "I'd rather talk to Nanzonese grandmas than watch paint dry."

At that moment, Miss Snyder stood up and called the attention of the room to a row of small cubbies, each labelled with a student's name.

"You can go back to eating in a minute," she said, "But I want to show you these encouragement boxes. If you see someone being a servant-leader this week, or someone that's having a hard day and needs a kind word, write a note and put it in their box."

There was a murmur of excitement in the room.

"If these boxes are used for sending love letters, we'll shut them down," said Miss Snyder pointedly.

At another table, Liz made an exaggerated gesture of disappointment.

"Remember, you're meeting with your small groups before you go back to work this afternoon," said Miss Snyder, "Alright, get back to eating."

"Which small group am I in?" Liam asked Vasilio.

Vasilio started swallowing a mouthful of rice so he could answer, but Miss Snyder, apparently anticipating Liam's question, swooped in to answer it first.

"Liam, you're in Professor Shrike's group," said Miss Snyder, "We just assigned everyone that doesn't go to youth group at random. And no, the assignments are not up for negotiation."

"Who else is in Shrike's group?" asked Liam as Miss Snyder left.

"Parker, Annalise, Ruth, Caleb," listed Vasilio, "Oh, and Mori's boyfriend."

Liam glanced at Mori, wondering how she would take the accusation. She seemed a little annoyed for a moment, but quickly adopted a sly smile and fixed her gaze on Vasilio, who stared unblinkingly back at her.

"You spying for my dad?" she said coolly.

Vasilio shook his head and looked away. Mori leaned back with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I just wish you'd be careful," he mumbled.

"Because you worry so much about me," said Mori sarcastically.

"Yes, believe it or not," retorted Vasilio, "You're my friend, and I like it when you're not in trouble."

Liam was starting to wonder what the subtext of this entire conversation was, but neither of his friends seemed inclined to enlighten him.

"Worry about yourself," said Mori, looking over Vasilio's shoulder. Liam and Vasilio both turned and saw Rebecca and Liz. Rebecca put her hand on Vasilio's shoulder in a way Liam felt straddled the border between friendly and PDA.

"We're gonna go meet with our small group," said Rebecca, "You wanna come with us, Vasi?"

"When I finish eating," said Vasilio, pointing to his bowl with his wooden chopsticks.

"Okay," said Rebecca, brightly, "See you there."

Rebecca and Liz almost scrampered out of the lunch room. Vasilio ran a hand through his white hair uncomfortably.

"She likes you," said Mori, smirking, "A lot."

Vasilio ignored her as he hastily finished his bowl of rice.

"I'm gonna go," he said, picking up his bowl, "See you back at the cage, Liam."

Liam nodded and watched as his friend put away his bowl and hurried after Liz and Rebecca.

"Was… there something that I missed?" Liam asked Mori.

She shrugged.

"Vasi's mad at me," she explained, "Me and Dustin were sitting in the back on the way here, and he thinks we were being too… I don't know. Too something."

"Too flirty?" asked Liam.

"I guess," said Mori, scanning the lunch room with her eyes narrowed, "I gotta go ask Professor Wort about something. I'll see you at dinner, okay."

Liam was one of the last ones to finish eating, and not for lack of appetite. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about Mori and Vasilio's argument, and about Cass. He hadn't seen her all day except at a distance, and he wasn't sure whether he should go and try to mend things with her. The "encouragement boxes" Miss Snyder mentioned seemed to offer an opportunity, and after looking around to be sure no one was watching, he scribbled a note to Cass on a yellow post-it note and slipped it into her box. Trying to look as casual as possible without becoming conspicuously so, Liam slipped his hands into his pockets and left the lunch room.

Liam found Professor Shrike—easily recognizable even at a distance by her jet black hair and bright red necktie—sitting with the rest of the small group in a circle near the stairs down to the elderly village. Liam sat down next to Ruth, who was wearing a lab coat and humming contentedly to herself.

"Hi Liam," she said, "What did you do this morning?"

"Scrape rust off metal bars," said Liam, "Nothing too exciting."

"I have been looking after baby Pokemon," said Ruth, hugging herself with glee, "They are so cute!"

"Is that what the lab coat is for?" asked Liam.

Ruth nodded.

"To keep the baby Pokemon healthy and safe," she explained.

"Who else is in your group?" asked Liam, "I mean, from our class?"

"Rain and Stephanie," said Ruth, "Our group is mostly girls, apart from August."

Liam secretly wondered whether August had signed up merely to spend time with his attractive banquet date.

"Okay, everyone," said Professor Shrike, "Let's get started."

Liam didn't know much about Dustin apart from what Mori and Vasilio had told him, and the small group meeting was his first opportunity to observe him at close range. Dustin usually travelled with a clique of older students that shared his penchant for dark, baggy clothes and projecting an attitude of indifference, and Annalise—a lanky, sallow girl with long brown hair and an expressionless face—was one of them. Liam expected Dustin to spend the entire meeting mumbling to his friend, but quickly found that Dustin could be both talkative and even humorous. Despite his slouch, he was confident, and shared stories from his morning in the elderly village with an unaffected ease that Liam couldn't help but admire. However, whenever Shrike looked away, Dustin shot a meaningful glance at Annalise, and he listened to the others in the group with an ironic curl of the lip Liam didn't like. He laughed at odd things and at odd times, which Liam found unnerving.

Liam understood why Mori liked him—everything from his black earrings to his faded Breaking Benjamin sweater advertised him as a bad boy, or as close as a small expat community in Nanzo got to a bad boy. But Dustin also had a mystery about him, a sense that he was a different person to his court of intimates than to the teachers and the student body at large. Liam wondered how much Mori had already learned, or whether, even as his date to Banquet, Mori still had yet to be admitted to the in-jokes and meaningful glances of Dustin's inner circle.


	48. Chapter 48

As Liam made his way back to the metal shed for the afternoon's work, he spotted Mr. Wyngard's Marowak perched on a concrete ledge overlooking the road to the Orphanage. The Pokemon seemed to be standing guard, scanning the distance with narrowed eyes. Nearby, Mr. Wyngard himself was feeding some of the orphaned Pokemon from a large plastic bucket. Liam walked over to him slowly, doing his best not to alarm the Pokemon as they ate.

"Good afternoon," said Mr. Wyngard, offering a handful of mixed grains to a Raticate, which devoured them eagerly.

"Hi," said Liam, raising a hand in an awkward half-wave.

"I'm just finishing up giving these Pokemon their lunch," said Mr. Wyngard, "Jenny—I mean, Professor Huang, told me you're one of the students that looked after Anastasia for me."

Liam nodded.

"That was mostly Mori," Liam elaborated, "But yeah, my class took care of Anastasia and some of the other Pokemon."

Mr. Wyngard scratched the Raticate behind the ears.

"Well, let me offer you my thanks," said Mr. Wyngard, smiling, "The Orphanage was already overcrowded before the New Year, but the Team Power situation made things well…"

He shook his head.

"That Marowak," said Liam, tilting his head towards it, "Is it one of the Pokemon that Team Power abandoned?"

"Oh, no," said Mr. Wyngard, "No, he's mine. He's been at the Orphanage since it first opened, before my time, but he's been working with me since my first day here."

"Does he ... protect the Orphanage?" asked Liam.

"He looks after the other Pokemon," said Mr. Wyngard, "But he actually can't do much to protect them. He's got a skull fracture that he got back when he was a Cubone. It got bigger when he evolved, and now he can't battle anymore. It's too much pain. But he's a lot of help around here."

Mr. Wyngard whistled and the Marowak turned and rushed to his side in an instant.

"Go check on Mr. Li for me, and make sure everything is ready for afternoon," said Mr. Wyngard. Marowak nodded and started off down the hillside with its bone club over its shoulder.

"I think we all have a lot to do this afternoon," said Mr. Wyngard meaningfully.

Liam took the hint and quickly made his way to the cage. He found Vasilio and Amaura starting work on the lowest bars with brushes and green paint. Liam crouched next to them and grabbed a brush.

"So," began Liam quietly, "What's up with you and Mori?"

"She was all over Dustin on the ride here," said Vasilio, without looking away from his work, "You were probably the only person on the bus that didn't notice. I think she's gonna be in a lot of trouble with her dad when we get back, but she doesn't want to think about it."

"You think Rain'll tell?"

Vasilio rolled his eyes.

"I know Rain has turned Mori in before, but she's not the only one with eyes. She got PDA warnings from Christine, and Professor Rollon."

Vasilio dipped his paintbrush and continued.

"Honestly, I'm mostly worried that she's not going to get to go to Spring Banquet. She's really looking forward to it, and I'm worried about what she'll do if they tell her she can't go."

"Like run away again?" asked Liam.

"Or worse," said Vasilio, darkly.

Liam wondered for a moment what Vasilio could mean, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he reached for his portable speakers and put on another song. With a sigh, Liam dipped his own paintbrush into the paint and started painting the bars in front of him. Surely being a student shouldn't involve this much worrying, he thought.


	49. Chapter 49

Liam didn't see much of Cass during the rest of the day. She sat with Liz and Rebecca at dinner and the evening debrief, and spent their evening free time laughing and talking with them in the downstairs courtyard as Liam watched from the second floor. The courtyard below was the designated area for mixed-gender socializing, but Liam felt like he didn't have anyone to talk to. When Vasilio and Taylor asked if he wanted to come with them to talk with the girls, Liam declined. He knew Cass well enough to know she would come find him if she wanted to. Either she hadn't read his note of apology, or she was still keeping her distance deliberately. Vasilio and Taylor shared a meaningful glance, but didn't press further.

After the unpleasant and fruitless ordeal of trying to sleep on wooden planks the night before, Liam moved his sleeping bag out to one of the wicker benches in the hall outside. This sleeping arrangement left him exposed to the open air, but it was warm enough that he didn't care. A few older students followed his lead, and the teachers, after laughing at them, decided there wasn't any harm in the scheme and let them be. With his sleeping bag as a mattress and Eeevee curled up on his stomach,Liam slept better the second night, and wasn't anywhere near as grouchy when Arthur shook him awake the next morning.

Liam and Vasilio planned to finish the lower half of their section in the shed before lunchtime on the second day. Any higher up and they would need ladders. They immediately set to work, assisted by Vasilio's Smoochum and Liam's Sneasel, who painted the highest bars from its perch atop Liam's head. With their favorite songs blaring from Vasilio's tiny speakers and a sense that they were making real progress, they settled into an easy rhythm of painting and humming along to the music.

"Liam, come with me."

Liam looked up from the bucket of paint he was mixing and saw Wort standing over him.

"Okay," said Liam, a little confused. Vasilio looked at him curiously as Wort led him out of the covered cage and over in the direction of the orphanage's main building.

"You're not in trouble," said Wort, in his usual deep voice, "I'm just assigning you to do something different. We've got too many people painting those bars and we need more help cleaning the kitchen."

They began climbing up the stairs in the direction of the meeting room, which was adjacent to the kitchen.

"To be honest with you," said Wort, lowering his voice slightly, "I'm assigning you here because I want someone to give Miss McCleod some help. She insisted on working in the kitchen this year, but I don't want her to get hurt. So, you're her assistant. "

Liam was secretly pleased with his assignment, even if it meant he wouldn't have as much time to talk to Vasilio. He found Cass and Taylor in the orphanage kitchen. Taylor was scrubbing the countertops, but Cass—to Liam's amazement—was attempting to mop the floor.

"Cassandra," said Wort, "I've brought you an assistant."

"Oh," said Cass, "Hi Liam."

She seemed almost pleased to see him, or maybe she would have been pleased if she didn't feel like she was being a burden. Wort gave them all a nod and walked back out of the kitchen.

"Okay," said Liam, looking nervously at the wet floor Cass was standing on, "How can I help?"

"I'm really sorry," said Cass, lowering her voice, "I told Wort I didn't need any help, but I slipped a few minutes ago while I was mopping, and I think it made him nervous."

"It's really okay," said Liam, "I don't mind hanging out with you… two."

He quickly corrected what he was going to say when he noticed Taylor was watching him with a roguish arch to his eyebrows.

"Well, just make sure Cass doesn't fall so I can focus on scrubbing these sinks," said Taylor, "And when everything is clean, I think we're supposed to chop up those vegetables."

He pointed to a plastic bag full of cucumbers and carrots.

"Got it," said Liam.

He picked up a sponge and started scrubbing the countertops, always staying near enough to Cass that he thought he could grab her before she fell again. He kept watch on her out of the corner of his eye as she mopped the slick tile floor, jumping slightly each time he saw her foot slip or her hand grab a nearby countertop. Cass smiled as she noticed he was watching her.

"I'm really not gonna fall," she said reassuringly.

Glancing at Taylor, she edged a little closer to Liam and lowered her voice.

"I got your note. You really didn't have to apologize—I mean, if you wanted just to listen to music, I really understand. I love music, and—"

"I should value friends more than music," said Liam.

Cass smiled and looked away.

"I don't hear that mop movin,'" called Taylor over his shoulder.

"I'm almost done," protested Cass, "I think we've earned a break."

"Is one of the powers of the SGA vice president to designate breaks?" asked Liam.

"It is now," said Taylor, setting down his sponge, "We gotta let this stuff dry before we chop the vegetables anyways. What do you say, Cass? Ten minute break?"

"By my authority as vice president of the student government of Everspring International Pokemon Academy, I hereby declare us on a ten minute break," said Cass, leaning her mop against the metal countertop.

"Sweet," said Taylor, "I'm gonna… go see what they're doin' downstairs."

"You mean go see what Rosaline is doing downstairs?" asked Cass with a smirk.

"Keep your assumptions and presumptions to yourself, McCloud," said Taylor as he left.

Liam and Cass chuckled.

"Let's go outside," said Cass, "There's something I want to see."

Liam followed her curiously down the back stairs of the kitchen and out to the rear the main building. Winding up the terraced slope of the hill behind the Orphanage, Liam saw a steep path carved out of the reddish earth. It looked to be the work of farmers using only hoes and shovels.

"We going up there?" asked Liam uncertainly.

"Mmhmm," said Cass, "Lead the way."

Liam shrugged and started climbing up the steep steps of the path. Cass followed determinedly behind him, taking long, shaky strides with her arms held out for balance. Liam was surprised by how well she was managing the sharp incline, until…

"Ouch!"

Cass slipped and fell forward, landing almost face-first on the steep dirt steps in front of her. With a groan, she tried to climb back to her feet, but she was barely able to lift her face out of the dirt. Liam started to panic. He first tried lifting Cass by the arms, but he was afraid he was being too rough with her. So, he tried to lift her by her waist, but that immediately felt too intimate. Finally, he tried to lift her by her arms again, this time without gripping so hard.

"It's okay," she said, a little breathlessly, "I'm not hurt. I've taken a lot of falls in my life. Just hold my arm and—."

With one hand on her bicep and the other on her forearm, Liam clumsily lifted Cass back onto her feet.

"Thanks, Liam," said Cass. For a moment, their eyes met. It was a short, almost indiscernible pause, and Liam realized he was still holding her arm, but he was afraid to let go.

"I'm really okay," she said, "That wasn't your fault. It was my idea to come up here at all, remember? "

"You're really not hurt?" asked Liam. His hands were starting to tremble.

Cass shook her head.

"My body's still as messed up as ever, but I don't think I broke anything new," she said. Liam smiled and loosened his hold. She reached up and took his left arm in her tight, bony grip.

"Let's try like this," she said, "I don't want my clumsiness to get you in trouble with Wort."

Liam didn't say much for the rest of the way up the mountainside. He felt like whatever he said with Cass holding his arm would be idiotic gibberish. Fortunately, Cass didn't say much either, until they reached the top of the hill.

"This is what I wanted to see," she said, turning around and looking back the way they came. It was a spectacular view. Beyond the Orphanage and elderly village below, the road wound down into a wide, flat valley covered in rice fields. In the light of the mid-morning sun, the wet rice sparkled and the distant mountains were outlined in a dark green. A flock of Spearow wheeled and whirled high overhead, casting an ever-changing shadow on the valley below.

"Nanzo is such a beautiful place," said Cass, "I remember noticing that when my family flew into the airport for the first time. We passed over South Cloud Lake and I saw the light shimmering on the surface of the water, and I've been in love ever since."

"In love?" repeated Liam. He immediately felt like it was a very strange pair of words to single out, but Cass didn't seem confused or offended.

"Yeah," she said, "I really love Nanzo. I mean, I liked Liontide, living in a big, beautiful city on the coast, but Nanzo is so… so different. It's not as tidy or modern, but everything about it is so charming. I think a terrace of rice paddies is twice as romantic as any fancy Kalosian restaurant or ocean boulevard."

Liam laughed.

"What?" said Cass.

"It's just…"

He shook his head. Cass looked at him with curiosity.

"Now I want to know," she said eagerly, "C'mon, what did I say that was funny?"

"I never thought about rice paddies being romantic," said Liam, "But seeing them like this…"

He paused. His heart was pounding. He could almost hear Mori shouting at him.

"Kiss her! Kiss her, you idiot!"

But he didn't. He took a deep breath, and then shrugged.

"...I get it," he finished. "You're right about everything, as always."

"I am not!" laughed Cass, "And you really don't have to agree with me about rice paddies if you don't want to. I was just being weird."

"I like weird," said Liam, "Or, uh, I like some kinds of weird. Your kind of weird is okay. My own kind of weird…"

"Is okay too," said Cass, smiling, "C'mon, let's head back down. Taylor will think we both tumbled off the mountain."

Liam nodded, and they turned to climb back down the muddy steps.

"Um," said Liam, "Are you gonna be alright?"

Cass gave a sheepish smile.

"I guess I didn't think the going back down part through," she said.

"Maybe," said Liam cautiously, "If you got on my back, we could…. Uh, well, I could…"

"Oh, so it's not enough for me to be a metaphorical burden," laughed Cass, "I have to be a literal one now? But you're right, I think. I mean, there's no way I'll get down on my own two legs. Let's see…"

Cass put her arms around Liam's neck and climbed awkwardly onto his back. Cass had long arms and legs, but she wasn't heavy, and Liam found he could climb slowly back down the side of the hill with relative ease, apart from the way the touch of Cass's skin made his heart flutter. As they approach the bottom of the steps, Liam heard someone calling out to them.

"I see you two are back from your date," said Taylor, who was walking towards them, "Haven't you two been goofin' off long enough?"

Liam blushed, but Cass merely laughed.

"C'mon, Taylor, we were gone for like ten minutes," she said, as she climbed off Liam's back.

"More like fifteen," he retorted, "Anyways, the counters are dry, so we can start cutting the vegetables."

Liam stood for a moment as he watched Cass and Taylor head back into the Orphanage by the back stairs. He heart was still racing. His hands were trembling. But he was happy. Very, very happy. And after pausing for a moment, he ran to catch up with Cass and Taylor.

He was very glad Cass was clumsy with a mop.


	50. Chapter 50

Cutting vegetables turned out to be a much more entertaining activity than Liam had expected, and not just because he was doing it with Cass and Taylor. Assisted by his Sneasel's sharp claws, Liam and his friends made a musical game out of chopping and slicing, first in imitation of Cass's stomp-stomp-clap theme song, and then in increasingly complex rhythms led by Taylor that Liam and Cass struggled to keep up with. By the time the Orphanage cooks came to make the lunch at eleven, the job was long done and the three friends were continuing their music-making with other parts of the kitchen.

"Any chance I could give your Sneasel some drum lessons?" asked Taylor as they sat down in the lunchroom, "He's got more natural talent than my Simipour for sure."

"Your Simipour has loads of natural talent," giggled Cass, "It's great at making me laugh."

"I don't think Sneasel would be into it if he couldn't use his claws," said Liam, looking at the Pokemon on his shoulder. Sneasel nodded firmly.

"Ah well," said Taylor, putting his feet on the table, "Guess it's still Robert, then."

"How are the songs for prom coming, Taylor?" asked Cass.

Taylor grimaced.

"The other guys overruled me on Supermassive Black Hole," he said bitterly, "They said it was too hard to learn. So, we're doing One Day instead."

"Is that one of your own songs?" asked Liam.

"Yep," said Taylor, "It's one of our more popular originals."

"But Paper Planes is still happening?" asked Cass earnestly.

"Yeah, if Arthur ever actually makes it to practice again," said Taylor, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, he's busy," said Cass, "Think about how many hard classes he's taking."

"It's not my fault he likes to suffer," said Taylor dismissively.

"I'll talk to Sylvia and see if you can get him a few more times," said Cass, "Because, I want him to get good grades, but—Paper Planes!"

She danced excitedly in her seat. Liam laughed.

Liam sat with Cass and her friends at lunch, much to the mirth of Vasilio and Mori, who winked and smirked at him annoyingly from their table. Liam, Taylor, and Cass spent the afternoon cleaning up the kitchen from lunch and chopping the vegetables for dinner, Liam working at Cass's side so, he told himself, he was still following Wort's instructions.

Taylor's meaningful coughs told Liam he wasn't buying a moment of it.

Liam spent that evening like he had the evening before, leaning on the second-floor railing with his Sneasel perched restlessly on his shoulder. As he looked down at the courtyard below, Liam noticed Mori and Dustin standing next to each other and whispering. They were one of several couples—and it was only couples—talking in the brisk night air. Professor Alexander was supposedly watching them, but he was absorbed in talking to one of the orphanage staff—a pretty Nanzonese woman in her thirties. Liam chuckled. Despite being an older gentleman, Professor Alexander had something of a reputation as a ladies' man.

Liam wished he and Cass were one of the couples talking in the low evening light, but he knew Cass was already showered and in bed up on the third floor, and he didn't want to make her get dressed and walk all the way down the stairs just to talk to him. Deciding, however, the next best thing to talking to Cass was talking about her, Liam made his way downstairs to see if he could borrow Mori's attention for a few moments. Fortunately, Dustin gave Mori a goodnight hug ("No PDA, you two," called Professor Alexander) just as Liam reached the first floor, and he and Dustin traded places.

"Guess what?" whispered Liam.

"You finally asked Cass to Banquet," said Mori, peering after Dustin through the gap between Liam's head and the Sneasel on his left shoulder.

"No," said Liam, "But we went on a walk together, all by ourselves, and I carried her on my back on the way back, and—"

"Wait a minute," said Mori, her eyebrows arching with interest, "Start from the beginning."

Liam recounted the entire adventure of the morning. To his surprise, however, Mori wasn't pleased by it at all.

"She gave you an opportunity to ask her," said Mori in amazement, "After what you did to her on the bus, and you didn't take it?"

"No, she…"

But Liam instantly realized that Mori was right.

"I didn't… I was just so caught up in…" protested Liam, but he knew that words would do him no good. He slapped himself in the head and groaned.

"I should just give up," said Liam, pacing in agitation, "I'll never get it right. I'm such an idiot."

"No," said Mori firmly, "No, you are not giving up. Ugh!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Boys are so stupid," she said to herself, "You try to help them…"

Without another word, she stormed off. Liam tried to follow her, but she was on her way up the stairs to the third floor before he could catch up with her. He called after her, but she ignored him. As he stood at looking after Mori's retreating back, Vasilio walked up to him.

"You've gotten really good as pissing off Mori recently," he said, "That means she likes you, I think."

Liam shook his head.

"I've made a couple of stupid mistakes," he said, cryptically, "And it's always Mori that points them out."

Vasilio shrugged.

"If you're talking about Cass, don't take what Mori says too much to heart. She's… easily offended, if you haven't noticed. She reads into people's intentions in a way Cass doesn't. Mori always assumes other people are out to get her. It would take a lot for Cass to believe someone wronged her on purpose."

"People haven't been nice to Mori," said Liam meaningfully.

"Believe me, I know," said Vasilio, looking at Liam seriously, "Remember, I was here for all of it. I know Claire, and Rain, and plenty of others have been mean to Mori. But in case you haven't noticed, she doesn't treat people she doesn't trust nicely either. Rain has grown up a lot since middle school, but Mori can still only see the girl that used to tell on her all the time."

Liam's Sneasel grunted in agreement.

"Oh, you shut up," said Liam, "You don't trust anyone either."

Vasilio reached up and scratched Sneasel behind its quil.

"We're gonna practice some of our songs downstairs until lights-out," said Vasilio, "You wanna come?"

Liam nodded.

"That sounds fun," he said.


	51. Chapter 51

Liam felt someone pulling on his shirt before he realized where he was. He wanted to ignore it—he was groggy and his body ached, and he wanted to keep sleeping. It seemed like just minutes ago that he had finally dozed off on the wicker bench on the Orphanage's second-floor balcony.. But as the tugging on his shirt continued, Liam realized with a sudden feeling of horror that it wasn't a human hand. He bolted up and looked around, almost afraid of what he would see. It was still night, and apart from a weird orange light, the Orphanage looked the same as it had when he had gone to bed. Next to him, Liam saw the diminutive form of Mr. Wyngard's Marowak tugging at his shirt, its eyes wide with fear.

"What is it?" mumbled Liam, rubbing his eyes.

Suddenly, with a rush of fear, he realized what was happening.

Fire. Someone or something had set the surrounding hill alight, and as Liam listened closely, he thought he heard low voices and the rushing of feet. Jumping up, Liam started towards the nearest room, closely followed by Marowak. But just as he reached for the door handle, he heard footsteps on the landing behind him. His heart pounding, Liam turned to see a shadowy figure on the landing. Its painted face was white and black, with shining eyes and a malicious grin. Liam felt his skin crawling. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Liam started to shout.

"Team Power! Team Power!"

With a laugh, the figure lunged towards him, but Marowak stepped forward defiantly to block its way. Liam reached for the Pokeball on his belt as lights flicked on in the room next to him.

"Are you having a nightma—" mumbled Arthur, peeking out of the door, but his words died in his throat.

The intruder kicked the Marowak aside without even glancing at it, and Liam heard its skull crack against the wall. The sound sent him into a rage. He let go of the Pokeball on his belt and lunged at the intruder. He swung his fists wildly, trying as hard as he could to hit the cruel, painted face that was laughing at him. The Team Power grunt shoved him back, and Liam fell hard onto the tile floor. He scrambled to his feet and put up his fists, but the grunt struck him in the face, making his head spin. Liam slumped to his knees, holding his face in agony.

"Get away from him!" said a deep, commanding voice.

Professor Wort had grabbed the intruder with his long arms and lifted him off his feet. Liam could hardly see through the pain and dizziness, but he heard the frightened yell of the grunt as Professor Wort hurled him back down the stairs. Liam felt someone helping him to his feet.

"You alright, man?"

It was Arthur, wearing only boxers and a white undershirt.

"Mr. Liu," said Wort, "Stay here with Liam. If there are more of them, the girls could be in danger."

Arthur nodded, but a scream from the floor above immediately realized their fears.

"Wake up everyone else," said Professor Wort, taking a Pokeball out of his pocket and rushing up the stairs to the third floor landing, "Defend yourselves!"

"Liam, get Professor Rollon," said Arthur urgently, "I'll wake up Professor Alexander and the others."

"What about Marowak?"

Arthur picked up the wounded Pokemon and laid it on the bench where Liam had been sleeping.

"I'll find someone to take care of it," said Arthur, "Let's get moving."

His face still stinging, Liam nodded and made his way as quickly as he could to the farthest room on the landing. As he reached it, however, Taylor and August stepped into the hall, Pokeballs in hand.

"We're gonna go help the girls," said Taylor.

"No, you are staying right—" came Professor Rollon's voice from inside the room, but too late. They were already sprinting up the stairs.

"Liam," said Vasilio, joining him in the hall, "Are you okay? Your eye looks real bad."

Liam shook his head.

"It's Team Power," he stammered, "They—they set the mountain on fire!"

On the floor above, they heard a loud bang and another scream. Two Team Power grunts almost tumbled down the stairs, laughing as they fled. Liam and Vasilio turned to run after them, but Professor Rollon grabbed them both by their shoulders.

"Pokeballs in hand, everyone," said Professor Wort, leaning over the railing from the floor above, "Frank, check the meeting room."

Professor Rollon nodded and motioned from Liam and Vasilio to follow him as he made his way to their meeting room at the end of the landing. Rollon stepped boldly in and flicked on the lights, revealing a Team Power grunt and his Charmeleon setting fire to the table holding the encouragement boxes.

"Lycanroc, go!" said Rollon.

Liam and Vasilio released their Pokemon as well, but it was already too late. With a smirk, the grunt and his Charmeleon fled down the back staircase, leaving the table in engulfed in a growing inferno.

"Taylor!" shouted Professor Rollon.

Taylor, the left side of his face red and swollen, appeared behind them.

"Yes, sir?" he said breathlessly.

"Get your Simipour to put this out," said Rollon, "Liam, Vasilio, stay with him."

He turned and left the room at a jog, closely followed by his Lycanroc.

"Simipour," said Taylor, "Put out this fire."

Simipour realized a spout of water from its mouth, dampening the fire, but not extinguishing it.

"I think I'm gonna need some help," said Taylor.

Just at that moment, Professor Rollon returned, followed by August and Jonah.

"Give Taylor some help with that fire," said Rollon, "Vasilio, Liam, come with me. We've got more problems."

Liam and Vasilio glanced at each other curiously as they followed Rollon back out onto the second floor balcony. They found most of the other students leaning on the railing, Pokeballs in hand. Next to Professor Wort, a large blue Azumarill was peering out into the smoke and darkness, its tail twitching.

"There are more of them out there," said Professor Wort seriously, "They'll be here soon."

Liam suddenly remembered the Marowak, and pushed past his friends to check on it. He found it lying motionless on the wicker bench guarded by Arthur, blood pouring from a fracture in its skull. Liam fell to his knees

"We need to help it," he said, with panic in his voice, "It can't—we can't let it—"

But Liam felt someone pushing his aside. It was Stephanie, wearing striped pink pajamas and her wavy brown hair in a messy bun. She briefly examined Marowak's wound before pulling a green bottle out of her pocket and spraying it on the fracture.

"Marowak will be okay," she said firmly, applying a small bandage, "I gave him a Full Restore. That will stop the bleeding and help the fracture to start mending."

Liam could have hugged Stephanie, but a sudden noise made them both turn and look out over the courtyard below. The blazing brush on the hillside had created a wall of smoke, but behind it they could hear the galloping of many feet approaching them through the darkness. The rest of the girls soon joined them on the second floor, followed by Miss Snyder and Professor Shrike.

"What is it?" asked Ruth, squinting into the smoke.

Then, Liam saw it.

An army of Pokemon and trainers with painted faces were marching up the main road leading towards the Orphanage. He caught a glimpse of a towering Onix, a fiery-maned Typhlosion, a Golbat, a Scizor, and a spiny-furred Jolteon. At the head of the advancing army, however, was a young woman with long blonde hair riding astride a Zebstrika—Claire. Her face was painted black and red, and she looked at the Orphanage with an expression of unmistakable scorn.

Liam felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Cass with a look of determination on her face. She steadied herself and then let go of Liam to reach for the Pokeball Liam knew contained her Electabuzz.

"Everspring," said Professor Wort calmly, "Prepare to put your training into practice."

Liam glanced nervously at the Sneasel perched on his shoulder. In the courtyard below, Claire halted and pointed towards the Orphanage.

"Spare the trainers," Liam saw her mouth, "Destroy the Orphanage."

The Team Power Pokemon charged. As they advanced, a cry went up from the second floor landing.

"Truth!" shouted Liz, "Team Truth, get them!"

"Balance!" shouted Arthur hoarsely, "Balance, let's go!"  
"Virtue!" Liam heard himself bellow, "Virtue, let's beat them again!"

A hail of Pokeballs flew from the second floor, and the students let out a chorus of battle commands.

"Steelix, Rock Slide!"

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

"Bullet Seed, Heracross!"

Led by Ruth's Mega Blaziken and Cass's Electabuzz, their Pokemon charged the oncoming line of Team Power. As the opposing sides met, the ground shook and flashes of lighting, fire, and ice pierced through the smoke.

Liam had never imagined a Pokemon battle like this.

Within the dust and smoke, he could catch only glimpses of the struggle. Ruth's Blaziken crashing into an enemy Golbat. Arthur's Steelix wrestling with a gigantic Onix. Vasilio's Amaura raining rock and ice onto its opponents. Sneasel and Electbuzz, fighting almost back to back as Team Power Pokemon pressed in around them. Liam tried to shout orders to his Sneasel, but it was no good. The discord of battle drowned his words.

Even on the second floor balcony, they weren't safe from the chaos. Ricocheting blasts of ice, fire, and water grazed past them and knocked some students off their feet. As Liam stooped to help Cass, who had fallen trying to avoid a beam of psychic energy, he was himself hit by a torrent of water from the cannons of a Blastoise. Soaking wet, Liam pulled himself back to his feet and noticed a small figure walking with determination into the fray of battle, Pokeball in hand.

It was Mori.

Stepping over fainted Pokemon and barely avoiding the battles raging around her, Mori approached the mounted leader of Team Power at the far end of the courtyard.

"Claire!" she shouted, her voice trembling with anger.

Liam saw Claire's painted face form a bemused expression.

"Grace Shaw," she said, dismounting, "Of course you would be—"

"My name is Mori, you stuck-up bitch," interrupted Mori, "And I'm going to hurt you."

Mori's Misdreavus drifted forward with a gleeful cackle. Just a few feet away, Arthur's Steelix came crashing down onto one of Team Power's Charmeleons.

"Missy, Shadow Ball," said Mori through clenched teeth.

"Zebstrika, Wild Charge," said Claire.

The orb of ghostly energy glanced off Zebstrika like a wisp of smoke as the Pokemon slammed into Misdreavus, sending her spinning.

"No!" said Mori, "Missy, use—"

But an arcing bolt of electricity from Zebstrika's white crests had already finished the job. Missy drifted to the ground with a whine.

"Zebstrika, Thunder," said Claire, an icy hatred in her voice.

Liam's heart froze.

"No!" Liam heard Vasilio shout.

Liam closed his eyes as the burst of electricity rippled down from the sky. There was a blinding flash, and Liam felt the ground shake beneath him. When he dared to look again, he saw, to his amazement, that Mori was unharmed. In front of her, Shedinja was hovering placidly. The concrete beneath it was scorched and singed.

"Flame Charge, Zebstrika," said Claire. Liam heard the anger in her voice.

Before Mori could react, Zebstrika's attack broke through Wonder Guard and sent Shedinja tumbling in a dead faint. Trembling, Mori fell to her knees as Claire approached her menacingly.

"Not so brave now, you little freak," said Claire, her eyes narrowed, "I see you haven't learned anything. Zebstrika, Thund—"

But the last Pokeball on Mori's belt burst open, and the hulking form of Anastasia stood between Mori and Claire.

"Bouf!" said the Pokemon, pawing the ground.

Claire's eyes grew wide. She took a step back, and Liam saw her hands trembling.

"Anastasia…" she mouthed.

Anastasia tossed its horned head. There was no menace in the gesture, but warning. Claire took another step backwards. She seemed to be looking around her in panic, trying to avoid the unblinking gaze of her former Pokemon. Then, to Liam's amazement, she covered her face with her hands and disappeared into the smoke and darkness, her Zebstrika galloping after her.

Liam was rushing down the stairs before he realized what he was doing. By the time he reached Mori, Vasilio and Dustin were already lifting off the ground. She was trembling violently, with tears rolling down her face.

"Come back!" she screamed, "You monster, I'll..."

Mori's legs gave beneath her as they tried to stand her up. With a grunt, Dustin unceremoniously picked her up and started to carry her back to the second floor. Around them, the battle was subsiding. Most of the Team Power grunts had retreated with Claire, and their fellow students were rushing down the courtyard to collect their fainted Pokemon and drive back the remaining attackers. Dustin set Mori on one of the second-floor benches, where Miss Snyder and Professor Shrike rushed to her side. But Mori could only sob.

Over the eastern edge of the hillside, Liam noticed the first light of morning. In the courtyard below, students with water Pokemon were doing their best to fight back the remaining flames. Ruth was sitting on the stairs, staring blankly ahead of her. Liam sat down beside her.

"Claire tried to kill Mori," said Ruth, "She… she is not my friend."

Ruth shuddered and clenched her fists.

"I thought, perhaps, she had been tricked," continued Ruth, trying to hold back tears, "or she was forced to join them, but…."

She shook her head vigorously.

"Claire is a bad person. She must be stopped."

Liam nodded. But Ruth shook her head again.

"I do not understand," she said, "I cannot understand."

Liam saw tears flowing down Ruth's cheeks.

"She is not… she was not… She was... different…"

She shook her head again and covered her face with her small hands. Liam had learned long ago that Ruth's childlike mannerisms disguised a fearless heart and sharp mind, but to see her cry was almost like watching a little girl cry while trying to be brave, and it made Liam's own heart hurt.

After staring at his shoes for a long time, Liam felt someone sit down next to him. It was Cass.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Liam jerked his head at Ruth. Cass nodded and motioned for them to switch places. Liam stood up, and Cass scooted over to wrap her arms around Ruth. Liam looked over at the bench where Miss Snyder was talking to Mori. Mori had run out of tears, and Liam smiled weakly as he realized Miss Snyder was trying to comfort Mori and mildly scold her for endangering herself at the same time. Beside them, Wort and Shrike were making sure everyone was accounted for. Most of the students had returned from the courtyard below. The battle was over.

"I really want to go back to sleep," said Liam, yawning.

"I could sleep like a Komala on those planks about now," said Cass, forcing a smile, "C'mon, Ruth, let's go back to bed."

Ruth nodded and they walked back up to the third floor. As Liam made his way back to his wicker bench, he found Sneasel, bruised and scraped from the battle, perched watchfully on the balcony railing.

"I think they're gone for good," said Liam, "Anyways, I'm too tired to fight them even if they do come back."

He returned Sneasel to its Pokeball and sat down next to Marowak, which was now upright and conscious.

"Thanks for waking me up," said Liam, "You probably saved all of us."

Marowak looked at Liam seriously, but made no sound or gesture.

"Sorry for bringing this trouble with us," Laim continued, "Looks like we did more harm than good by coming here."

Marowak gave a small growl of agreement.

"And thanks for trying to protect me from that grunt. Mr. Wyngard told me about how you can't battle. Seems like there's a lot of bravery in Nanzo."

Liam's thought back to Ruth's fearless challenge to the Team Power grunts in the construction site in Jadetower all those months ago. Marowak climbed down off the bench and made its way back down the stairs. Liam assumed it was going to find Mr. Wyngard. With a sigh and a yawn, Liam laid down on his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

The last thing he saw before falling asleep was Anastasia, still staring in the direction where Claire had retreated.

"Mori spoils that Pokemon," Liam thought sleepily, "But, I think she deserves another poffin after tonight."


	52. Chapter 52

Liam woke up again around noon. The sun was high in the clear Nanzo sky, revealing the extent of the damage caused by Team Power's attack the night before. In the courtyard below, students were picking up trash, sweeping ashes, and piling up rubble. Mr. Wyngard, his face grave, was standing in the middle of them with his arms crossed. Next to him, Liam recognized the sunglasses and black trench coat of Silas, the League Champion.

"Morning, Snorlax."

Liam looked and saw Vasilio standing next to him with a broom.

"Morning," grumbled Liam, "Gosh, I'm hungry."

Vasilio laughed.

"Well, it's lunchtime. Almost passed lunchtime, actually."

Liam got up from the bench and flattened his hair.

"Is everyone else up?"

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "I never went back to sleep. I couldn't, after… all that. But I think you're one of the last ones."

"How's Mori?"

Vasilio's expression darkened.

"She… well, she's got in-school suspension when we get back," said Vasilio.

"What?" said Liam angrily, "Why would they—"

"Going out to fight Claire was really, really dumb," said Vasilio, "I'm not happy about it either, but I can't blame Christine. I don't think Mori does, either. But… that's not the only thing."

Vasilio glanced down at the courtyard.

"She's on the phone with her dad right now," he said, lowering his voice, "I… I think ISS is gonna be the least of her problems. Come on."

Vasilio motioned for Liam to follow him, and they made their way down to the Orphanage courtyard and around to the back of the building, where Liam and Cass had taken the dirt steps up the hill the day before. They found Mori sitting on the ground with her back against the wall. She had a cellphone pressed against her left ear, and she was having a mumbled and disjointed conversation.

"Yes sir," she said, "Yes, I know I—but, but you don't—yes sir. I was just… but… Okay. Yes sir. I'm sorry. I'll… yeah, I will. Yes sir. Goodbye, dad."

She hung up and dropped the phone bitterly on the ground next to her. As she noticed Vasilio and Liam, she jumped to her feet and approached them angrily.

"I'm not allowed to go to Banquet with Dustin," she said, glaring at Vasilio with clenched teeth, "And I'm grounded for the rest of the semester. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Mori," began Vasilio, but she cut him off.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk to you. I've gotta go tell Dustin I can't be his date after all. I'll be lucky if I can even go at this point. But I'm sure that's good for me. Everything that hurts is good for me."

"Mori," said Vasilio, soothingly, "I didn't want…"

"Stop it," she said, "Stop it, I don't want to listen to you right now. I want to punch you right in your stupid face because you're always right. You're always…"

She bit her lip.

"Mori, please," said Vasilio, "I just want…"

SMACK.

Mori had slapped Vasilio across the face.

"Screw you!" shouted Mori, and she pushed past Liam to get away from them both.

"Vasi," said Liam, "Are you—"

But to his amazement, Vasilio was smiling.

"Mori hits really hard," he said, feeling his lip, "Ouch, that actually really hurts. Am I bleeding?"

Liam looked at Vasilio's mouth, where he saw a drop of blood forming on his lower lip.

"Yeah," he said, "A little."

Vasilio snorted.

"I'm glad she got that out of the way. She needed to do that to someone."

"So you like getting slapped by Mori?" asked Liam with a smirk.

"Not like that," said Vasilio, flicking Liam's arm, "I just know I have to be the bad guy to her a lot, and I like when it irks her enough to fight back. That means she's not shutting me out."

"You should probably get a tissue for your lip before you bleed all over your shirt," put in Liam.

Vasilio nodded, and they went in search of Miss Snyder and first aid kit. They found her in the courtyard, talking to Mr, Wyngard and Silas.

"Vasilio," said Miss Snyder, "What happened to your mouth?"

"I think I reopened a cut I got last night," lied Vasilio, "Do you have the first aid kit?"

"Stephanie has it," said Miss Snyder, pointing at their classmate, who was sitting on a ledge with Sylvia.

"You guys were pretty lucky," said Silas, "At least nobody got badly hurt."

"I don't know how we're going to keep the Orphanage open now," said Mr. Wyngard. There was a note of bitterness in his voice Liam had never heard before.

"A lot of the farmers had their crops ruined last night," he continued, "It's really hurt our relationship with the locals."

"I'll talk to some of the NGOs about getting funds to put this place back in order and compensate the farmers for their crops," said Silas.

"My dad does rural development," put in Liam, "He might be able to help."

The three adults looked at Liam in surprise.

"I'll talk to your dad," said Silas, with an appreciative nod.

Mr. Wyngard shook his head hopelessly.

"Liam, c'mon," said Vasilio, "Before I bleed all over myself."

Liam excused himself from the conversation he had inadvertently joined and followed Vasilio the ledge where Stephanie was examining a burn on Sylvia's face.

"You should put some aloe on it when we get back to Everspring," Stephanie was telling her, "Wash it with cool water every hour or so until then."

"For an aspiring pharmacist, Stephanie, you always seem to be playing nurse," said Liam with a grin.

"I'm guessing that's Liam," said Sylvia, who wasn't wearing her usual round glasses, "You would think he'd be more appreciative of you, Steph."

Stephanie laughed.

"I'm not going to not look after my friends," she said, "Speaking of which, what happened to you, Vasi?"

"Mori slapped me." he mumbled.

Sylvia snickered.

"You better take care of him, Steph," she said, "Sounds like an emergency."

"She didn't hit that hard," grumbled Vasilio as he sat down next to Stephanie, "And don't tell Christine. I don't want her in more trouble than she is now."

"I'm going to disinfect it," said Stephanie, reaching into the first aid bag, "It will probably hurt."

"Liam, you should go get lunch—ow!"

As much as Liam wanted to stay and watch Vasilio suffer under Stephanie's care, he was hungry. He made his way up to the lunch room, which was empty except for one person. Liam filled his bowl with rice and vegetables and sat down next to Mori.

"You okay?" asked Liam. Mori shook her head.

"I messed up," she said, "I messed up really bad."

Missy, who was hovering over Mori's head, cooed sympathetically.

"I almost wish… I wish that Thunderbolt had..."

Liam looked at Mori with alarm.

"I just wanted to hurt her. I wanted to hurt Claire like she hurt me. But…"

She wrung her hands.

"You know what really hurts? Nothing's changed. I thought I had grown up, and I had things more under control, and was stronger, but…"

Liam noticed that Mori was hugging her little black notebook.

"She pushed me around just like she always has," said Mori, trying to hold back tears, "She called me—she called—"

To Liam's surprise, Mori almost grabbed him and started sobbing into his shoulder.

"I wanted to… I wanted to go with Dustin so badly," she choked, "I felt like… like I was doing something… something right for once."

Liam patted Mori awkwardly.

"I knew… I mean, I knew I might be in a little bit… I'd be in trouble with dad because of what happened on the bus, but…."

Mor shuddered violently.

"You wanna know—" she choked, "You wanna know why I keep this—this book? Because everything—everything she said is—"

She couldn't say any more. After a few minutes of silent tears, Mori abruptly straightened herself and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry," she said, "I've gotta… go deal with this. I should… I don't know, go tell Vasi I'm sorry for hitting him, I guess."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"Nah," said Mori with a resigned shrug, "But that's nothing new."

She gave Liam a playful flick.

"You know, Liam," she continued, "You're a real idiot sometimes, but you're much better at listening than Vasi. Don't ever lose that. Girls like it."

And with a wink, Mori hopped to her feet and disappeared through the door of the lunchroom, her Misdreavous floating gleefully behind her. Liam looked down at the bowl of cold rice and vegetables he hadn't even touched.

"Nothing is ever easy," he muttered.


	53. Chapter 53

Liam sat with Mori on the ride back to Everspring the next day. She and Vasilio were on speaking terms again, but clearly not reconciled enough to spend ten hours together. Also, Liam suspected Mori wanted to be away from the crowd at the back of the bus. People had been looking at Mori with concern ever since her confrontation with Claire, as if she were about to break down at any moment. Liam knew their concerns were well-intended, but Mori didn't like being watched.

When they arrived back at the school gate that night, there was a small crowd waiting for them—teachers, parents, younger students—and Liam was far from the only student that found himself giving a confused account of the night attack by Team Power to curious listeners.

"I got woken up by Marowak," explained Liam to Chelsea Whitaker and a few other middle schoolers, "It was like… four in the morning? And Team Power had set the mountain on fire. So we woke up everyone—there were already people from Team Power in the building—but most of them marched up to the Orphanage like an army with Claire."

"Claire was there?" asked Chelsea Whitaker, "I mean, she was with them?"

"Yeah," said Liam, "But the guy who… Jiu wasn't there. At least, I didn't see him."

"Me neither," said Mori, "And I got a closer look."

"Grace," said a low voice.

Liam turned to see a tall, heavy-set man with fair hair and a trimmed moustache walking towards them. He looked older—perhaps in his fifties—but his face was boyish and he looked at Mori with care and concern.

"Hi dad," said Mori glumly.

Liam almost jumped. He had never seen Mr. Shaw before, and this man wasn't at all what he had expected.

"Got all your stuff?" asked Mr. Shaw.

"Yeah," said Mori, "Oh, this is Liam."

Mori tilted her head slightly.

"Peter Shaw," said Mr. Shaw, shaking Liam's hand. His hands were enormous, and his grip was firm.

"Hi," said Liam awkwardly.

"Let's go, Grace," said Mr. Shaw, "Nice to meet you, Liam."

Mori followed dejectedly after her father. As she passed Liam, she brushed her hand against his. It was a desperate gesture, and Liam almost wanted to follow her. However, he heard the tap of a cane approaching behind him, and he turned to see Professor Werner.

"I'd like to talk to Liam privately," said Werner.

His voice was calm, but cold. Chelsea and her friends cleared off immediately.

"I heard they destroyed the Orphanage," said Werner seriously.

"Not… Well, I guess they did," said Liam uncomfortably, "Mr. Wyngard didn't look too happy when we left."

"You can't fight Team Power like thugs brawling in the street," said Werner, "Your first priority should have been to protect that Orphanage."

"Nobody got hurt that badly," protested Liam.

"Those Pokemon—the ones no one looks after or cares about—they don't have a place to stay anymore," said Werner, "Some of them can be transferred to foster care or maybe to the Birch Lab in Hoenn, but that's only a temporary measure. Team Power are closing in. They may be just fools following a teenage girl in Nanzo, but in the neighboring regions, things are getting worse. They've driven the gym leaders out of Shizo. They're talking about relocating the headquarters of the Pokemon League from Beizo because the north is no longer safe. Team Power promised a new Spring and Autumn, and outside of Nanzo they've been as good as their word. Everything in Nanzo—everything that gives hope to the strong and shelter and comfort to the weak—has to be protected."

"We're just… we're just kids," said Liam. He was looking at his shoes.

"I had just turned 16 when the armies of Imperial Kanto subjected Goldhill City to six weeks of rape and murder," said Werner, "I knew I was going to fight them, but I also didn't just pick up a stick and charge the Rhydons of the IKA. The Four Regions were full of people willing to fight, but very few had the means. So I came to Everspring. I joined the Flying Incineroars. I learned to fly—that was something Nanzo needed and something very few knew how to do. I learned how Kantonian pilots moved, how they used their Pokemon. Because I knew when the K-49 Storm Dragonites were flying for Twice-Honored City, we were the only ones that could stop them from reigning fire and death on the wartime capital. We—"

Werner stopped abruptly. Liam was breathing heavily, Werner's words ringing in his ears. He was trying as hard as he could not to cry in front of his teacher.

"You're right," said Werner, "You are just kids. But our kind—we strange global nomads to whom nowhere is home and anywhere can be—we're never young."

He placed a wrinkled hand bracingly on Liam's shoulder.

"To learn and to accept correction without argument are talents the old masters of Team Virtue valued especially highly," said Werner, "It's a talent I didn't have when I was your age."

Liam wiped his eyes.

"You'll have plenty of chances to face Team Power again," said Werner, "And not every battle will be a victory. Just remember why you're fighting."

Liam felt the Pokeballs on his belt.

"Goodnight, Liam Holbrook," said Werner, bowing slightly, "I'll see you on Monday."

Liam could only bow in reply.


	54. Chapter 54

"One ticket, please."

Arthur took the crisp red bill from Liam's hand and gave him a ticket printed on thick cardstock, along with his change.

"You sure waited until the last day," said Arthur.

"Yeah," said Liam.

He pocketed the ticket and started for his next class. He had decided not to ask Cass to Banquet. Not because he didn't want to, or even because he was too scared.

It was just too late.

He had overheard Liz, Rebecca, and Cass talking about their dresses that morning, and Cass had already bought hers. She said it was yellow. Liam didn't think much of the color, but he would have been willing to compromise.

If he hadn't spent so long dragging his feet.

The excitement of Team Power's attack on the Orphanage had fizzled out by the end of their first week back. Liam had told the whole story to Chelsea Whitaker and her friends more times than he could count, and he was almost glad the student body had finally moved on from Team Power to obsessing over Spring Banquet. Taylor had finally asked Rosaline, a quirky and untidy girl from Kalos, with a song he had written himself. Everyone was arranging rides and planning pictures, and Liam found himself a member of Vasilio, Rebecca, Arthur, and Liz's group that was leaving from New Court. Mori was tacitly included as well, as she no longer had anyone else to go with. She had been keeping a safe distance from Dustin ever since Village Trip, but Liam suspected their relationship was continuing behind the scenes. Either way, he and Mori would be the only singles in a van full of couples, and that was some small consolation for not going with Cass.

Liam had almost skipped the first Team Virtue meeting after Village Trip, but Timothy had persuaded him to come along.

"Werner's hard on everyone," said Timothy, "But he's especially hard on people he likes. You should have seen way he yelled at me when I screwed up a battle at Pokelympics two years ago."

Werner did seem pleased to see Liam, and spent the entire meeting closely interrogating him and Timothy about Team Power's tactics as the younger students listened in awe. Liam found he had a lot to say on the subject, and Werner was nodding with satisfaction by the end of the meeting.

"Good, good," he croaked, "We've learned much about the enemy; no battle is wasted if one has the chance to learn from it."

If he was being honest, Liam wasn't as interested in beating Team Power as he had been, even with the memories of the Orphanage fresh in his mind. He, like everyone else, preferred to think excitedly about Spring Banquet. By the week before the dance, even Werner had given up trying to make them focus on Team Power.

"Team Virtue places great value on relationships," he said to Liam, "Even foolish ones."

Liam didn't have a jacket to wear to Banquet, so he settled on a black button-up shirt and a purple tie—the one thing he had bought specifically for the event. Liam chose to bring Murkrow along with him—bringing a partner Pokemon was a tradition at the school, and he thought Murkrow's elegant feathers might make up for his own half-hearted attempt at looking fancy.

The Friday night before the Banquet, Liam met Vasilio and the others for shaokao after Youth Group as usual. They were all almost jittery with excitement, and Liam noticed that Rebecca's handsiness with Vasilio had reached a new level. As they sat down at a squat table under a flickering streetlight and started on their sticks of roasted meat, the topic of the next day naturally arose

"The driver's supposed to be at New Court around 4:00," said Arthur, taking a large bite out of his skewer.

"Supposed to be?" repeated Liz.

"Yeah," shrugged her boyfriend, "I mean, that's when I told him to be there."

"When's the last time you talked to him?" asked Rebecca.

"How am I supposed to enjoy my shaokao under this amount of pressure?" said Arthur, holding up his hands defensively, "I talked to him yesterday. He'll be there."

"He better be," said Liz, kissing Arthur on the cheek.

"You guys should have more faith in me," grumbled Arthur, "I can't believe you'd vote for me as president but not trust me to order a taxi."

"Who says I voted for you?" muttered Liz.

Everyone but Arthur snorted.

"Is Mori for sure coming with us, Vasi?" asked Arthur.

"Yeah," said Vasilio, "She said she was when I asked her at Youth Group."

"Good," said Rebecca, "That's everything. I'm so excited."

She gave Vasilio's arm a squeeze. To Liam's amazement, his friend looked almost pleased by the attention.

"So… what usually happens at Banquet?" asked Liam.

"Food," said Arthur, "Lots of food."

"It's really a school dance," explained Liz, "They just couldn't call it that back in the day when the school was a glorified homeschool co-op because it scared the parents. The name stuck, but it's definitely a dance now."

"Liz has been here since day one," said Vasilio, giving her an approving fist-bump, "She knows it all."

"My parents actually started the school," said Liz, "I was in junior kindergarten back then. I've seen a lot of people come and go. There's a few that have stuck around, though."

"Which teacher has been here the longest?" asked Liam.

"I can answer that," said Arthur, "for the high school, anyways: it's a tie between Werner and Huang."

Liz nodded in agreement.

"They've both been here nine years," she said, "Werner was already ancient when he started, too."

"How old is he?" asked Liam.

Liz shrugged.

"Super old," she said, "Like, he can remember when Nanzo didn't have a Pokemon League. That old."

"Have you seen that ancient Pokeball he keeps his Skarmory in?" said Arthur.

"They still make Pokeballs like that in Johto," said Liam, "There's a guy in Azalea Town that make them by hand if you give him an Apricorn."

"What's Johto like?" asked Rebecca, taking her eyes off Vasilio for a moment.

Liam was pleased by the question.

"It's very… quiet," he said, "There are no big cities like Everspring. People live the way they have for hundreds of years, except for the electricity. Nothing ever really happens. Well, there was that Team Rocket thing a few years ago, but that was nothing compared to what happened in Kanto."

"Nothing used to happen in Nanzo," said Arthur with a yawn.

"The food there is really good too," Liam continued, "I miss the takoyaki and okonomiyaki especially."

"Doesn't Johto's food have a lot of fish in it?" asked Vasilio, with barely-concealed smirk.

"Not as much as Kanto's," said Liam, but then he caught Vasilio's meaning, "I'll eat fish. I just don't like how they look at me. Sushi doesn't stare back at you while you eat it."

Vasilio shrugged, as if to grant Liam his point.

"Which Pokemon is everyone bringing tomorrow?" asked Liz.

"Amaura," said Vasilio.

"He's close enough to the shade of blue we're doing," explained Rebecca, looking at Vasilio's eyes as Liz stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to keep from laughing, "I'm bringing my Prinplup."

"You bringing Steelix, Arthur?" asked Liam with a grin.

"No, he is not!" exclaimed Liz, as Vasilio chuckled, "We're not going through that again."

"I'm bringing Venomoth," said Arthur, "You know. Purple."

"I'm bringing my Murkrow with me," said Liam.

"No Eevee with a yellow ribbon?" questioned Rebecca with an air of very false innocence.

"Do you have to rub it it?" said Liam wearily, "I know I should have asked Cass. It's just… there was a lot going on. For both of us."

"There's always next year," said Liz, helping herself to the mushroom from one of Arthur's skewers.

"Yeah," said Liam, almost to himself, "That's what I thought last year."


	55. Chapter 55

Liam felt incredibly self-conscious walking to New Court the next day in his shirt and tie with Murkrow perched jauntily on his arm. Murkrow filled the role of distracting from Liam's lack of a jacket or dress shoes splendidly—perhaps too well, in Liam's opinion. The bird Pokemon had smoothed out its black feathers and bowed importantly to every passerby like an emperor greeting his courtiers. Only when they arrived in New Court and found a crowd of fancily-arrayed Pokemon and trainers taking pictures and fumbling with corsages did Murkrow begin to settle down. Liam started to look around for his friends.

"Hi Liam."

Liam nearly bumped into Mori, possibly because she was almost unrecognizable. She was wearing a white dress instead of her usual black, and she had pinned up her shoulder-length black hair. She grinned at the look of surprise on his face.

"What? I don't have to be goth all the time."

"You look… really good," stammered Liam.

"Oh, don't drool," said Mori, giving him a hard flick, "Vasilio and the others are other here getting pictures. I think they've decided we're a couple since we're the only two going alone, so we've got to get pictures together too."

Liam followed her and soon spotted Vasilio and Rebecca in blue and Arthur and Liz in purple getting pictures taken by a hedge of flowers. Vasilio, much to Liam's amusement, was wearing aviator sunglasses.

"I found him," announced Mori.

"Hey Liam," called Vasilio, taking off his sunglasses and slipping them into his pocket.

Liam tried to keep a straight face.

"Hey, man," he said, "Nice… shades."

"They're cool," protested Rebecca, "Don't listen to him."

"We ready to go?" asked Arthur.

"Not yet," said Liz, patting the camera that hung around her neck, "We gotta get Liam and Mori's pictures."

"We are not a couple," protested Mori, placing special emphasis on the word _not._

"Well, you've got to get pictures with someone, and you two are stag," insisted Liz, holding up here camera and motioning them to stand next to each other.

"I guess it's not optional," said Mori with a shrug.

Liam and Mori posed back-to-back with serious scowls on their faces. Murkrow perched itself dramatically on Liam's shoulder.

"You two are so difficult," laughed Liz as she focused the lens, "Tell your Misdreavus to stop acting weird!"

Missy was floating upside-down over Mori's head with an expression of malicious glee.

"Heck no," said Mori, "You put us four in a picture, weird is what you get."

Liz rolled her eyes and reluctantly snapped the photo.

The van Arthur had ordered met them at New Court's front gate. Looking around at the other students climbing into cars and vans in the prom attire, Liam was struck by an idea.

"What do you think the odds are that Claire shows up to Banquet uninvited?" he muttered to Mori.

"Don't even joke about that," she said flatly.

Mori climbed into the van's front seat and Liam was forced to sit next to Vasilio in the back. It was roomy enough inside—much larger than the "bread loaf vans" that usually served as cheap (and questionably legal) transportation in Nanzo. The mood was cheerful, and everyone was almost trembling with anticipation.

The trip to the venue proved much longer than Liam expected. After about twenty minutes of weaving through early rush hour traffic, they left the tall apartment blocks of Everspring behind them and eventually arrived at a sprawling resort far outside of town. Judging by the empty parking lot, it was deserted apart from the hotel staff and other students from Everspring.

"What is this place?" Liam asked Vasilio.

"It's a spa resort," said Vasilio, who was putting his sunglasses back on, "It's one of those weird hotels in Nanzo that doesn't really get used except for huge government conferences once a year."

"We got a pretty good price," said Arthur, "We don't get to actually use the spa, though."

Liz and Rebecca feigned exaggerated disappointment.

Behind the vast, marble-tiled lobby of the resort, they found a sprawling garden on the banks of an artificial lake, criss-crossed by bridges, stone paths, and gazebos.

"You did good, Arthur," said Rebecca, gazing around in awe, "This place is beautiful."

Many students were already posing for pictures. Liam put his hands in his pockets uncomfortably, feeling that he didn't quite fit in with any of the group shots. He was about to say so to Mori, but she had already ditched their group and joined Dustin and his friends in a nearby gazebo. Liam noticed that, although Mori and Dustin technically weren't coordinated, they also weren't uncoordinated, and if he hadn't known differently, he would have assumed they were a couple.

Liam kept an eye out for Cass he watched the others posing for photos, but he never spotted her or her yellow dress. He almost asked Sylvia about it as she walked by, but decided not to make it more awkward than was necessary. After about 15 minutes, Ruth, looking very pretty in a red and black dress, walked up to Liam to tell him they were taking a class picture on one of the nearby bridges. Liam followed her, and got a good look at Stephanie, Rain, and Jonah in their prom attire for the first time. Stephanie, her brown hair in loose curls, was wearing a turquoise dress that exactly matched the shade of her bright eyes, while Rain had opted for a long, elegant dress Liam inexpertly identified as "dark pink" before Rain corrected him.

"It's fuschia," she insisted, "You know, like the city?"

She had dyed her hair back to its natural black for the occasion. Liam thought it suited her better. As Liz waved them into place on the bridge, he couldn't help but grin.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Mori suspiciously.

"I like our class," said Liam.

"Because it's full of pretty girls?"

"Yes," said Liam wistfully.

Mori and Vasilio both flicked Liam hard.


	56. Chapter 56

The banquet itself took place in a conference room on the far side of the resort. It was decorated with a red carpet scattered with flower petals, and red Nanzonese Lampents floated in wobbly circles around the columns and chandeliers. Personalized name cards told each student where to sit. Vasilio and Rebecca found their place at the same table as August and Stephanie, while Liam scanned the room for a folded card with his name. He checked one table after the other, but couldn't seem to find his seat anywhere. As the tables around him filled up, he started to wonder whether the Student Government had forgotten to assign him a seat. He had bought his ticket at the last minute, after all.

"Hey, Sylvia," said Liam to his classmate, who was bustling past him, "Where am I—?"

"You're over there," said Sylvia, pointing to the far end of the room.

Liam looked where she was pointing and saw an empty seat next to a thin girl in a bright yellow dress with a Pichu in her lap.

"Uh, Sylv," stuttered Liam, "did you really—"

But the coy wink and salute she gave him as she scampered off made it clear to Liam that she knew exactly what she had done. With a resigned sigh, Liam made his way as casually as possible to the empty seat beside Cass and almost slumped into it.

"Hi Cass," he said awkwardly.

"Oh," she said, with obvious surprise, "That's what Sylvia meant, when she… ahh…"

She gave an embarrassed smile and shook her head.

"Sorry," she said, looking at Liam with a self-conscious grin, "I didn't know Sylvia was going to—I mean, I would have told her—"

"It's okay," said Liam.

He paused. With a deep breath, he decided that, for once, he would say exactly what Mori would want him to say.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather sit tonight."

Cass cocked her head slightly and looked at Liam curiously.

"What?" said Liam, blushing slightly and looking away.

Cass put a hand reassuringly on his arm.

"You… you're very confusing sometimes," she said, "But I wouldn't—"

The squealing feedback of a microphone going live interrupted whatever Cass was going to say, and they both looked towards an elevated stage on one side of the room. Arthur was standing behind the microphone, looking around in the same sheepish attitude he always adopted when he had to address the entire student body.

"Hey guys," he said with a grin, "Sorry about that."

There scattered cheers and claps.

"I'd, uh, just like to welcome you all to Spring Banquet, and on behalf of the Student Government, I—"

"When do we get to eat?" shouted Liz.

Cass snorted so hard she spewed the water she had been drinking all over her Pichu. She reached for her napkin to dry Pichu's ears.

"Uh, now," said Arthur, looking a bit like a Sawsbuck staring at oncoming headlights, "Dinner is… served."

There was a cacophony of shuffling chairs and tables as students rushed to the buffet. Liam stood up at once, but decided to wait for Cass, as sprinting wasn't exactly her forte. She seemed pleased by the attention, and they walked to the buffet together.

As Liam and Cass returned to their seats with plates full of food, they noticed a jacket and shawl draped over the other two seats at their table.

"Whose are those?" asked Liam.

Cass peered inquisitively at the name cards.

"Taylor and Rosie," she said.

"You got that right," said Taylor.

Taylor's long, black hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he was wearing a bright pink tie. His Pidgeotto was perched on his left shoulder.

"So, funny coincidence you two sitting together," he said with a smirk.

"Funny coincidence you and Rosie showing up so late," retorted Cass.

"Yeah," said Taylor, scratching his neck uncomfortably, "We, uh… got distracted."

"And where's Rosaline?" asked Cass.

"Fixing her hair," said Taylor, avoiding Cass's eyes.

Liam snorted.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on stage pretty soon?" Cass pointed out.

"Yeah," said Taylor, still looking a little distracted, "I guess I gotta eat quick. Tell Rosaline I went to get food when she shows up."

Cass and Liam watched in amusement as Taylor returned with a very full plate and did his best to scarf down everything in a matter of minutes, assisted by his Pidgeotto. Rosaline seemed to find it just as funny as they did, which instantly gave Liam a favorable opinion of her.

"Alright," said Taylor, wiping his mouth, "I gotta go find Vasi, and Arthur, and… Why did we ever sign up for this?"

"Pretty sure it was your idea, Tay," said Cass.

"Yeah," said Taylor, shaking his head, "I was pretty sure too."

Within a few minutes, Taylor, Vasilio, and the other members of I Am Munchlax were taking the stage with their instruments. Vasilio, who was on electric bass, had put his ridiculous sunglasses back on. Taylor and Arthur stood at the front of the stage, tuning their guitars. Behind them, Rebecca, was impatiently strumming her violin ukulele-style. Robert, the drummer, had been given special permission to come even though he was in 8th grade, which turned out to be unnecessary—a 10th grade girl had also invited him as her date.

"Think they'll be any good?" Liam whispered to Cass.

"I hope so," she replied, "I mean—I've been really excited for this, ever since I found out about Paper Planes—but they're not playing that until later, I guess. But I think they'll do okay. They won second place in the talent show this fall—that was just one song, but—"

"Hey everyone," said Taylor, adopting a dramatic voice as his amplified words echoed through the room, "We're I Am Munchlax, and we're here for your entertainment."

The students cheered wildly.

"I think you all know this first one," he continued, glancing over at Arthur, who had just finished tuning his guitar, "So sing along."

The band started on a rocked-up version of Viva La Vida, the main riff blaring out of Exploud's open mouth. Liam thought they were… okay. They clearly could have done with more practice, but the other students seemed to be enjoying it, and plenty of them were already standing up to dance. Liam preferred to watch the others and enjoy the music, and to his relief, Cass appeared just as uninterested in dancing as he was. They sat together in silence for the first few songs, tapping out the beat with their fingers. Murkrow had joined the aerial ballet of Pokemon swooping around above the dance floor, narrowing dodging the Nanzonese Lampents, who resembled the red lanterns the people of Nanzo hung up to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

After a while, Liam noticed that Cass was glancing over at him, as if she had something to say but wasn't sure if—or how—she should say it. It became so obvious that he eventually resolved to bring it up, and the next time she looked at him, he asked if everything was okay.

"Yeah," she said, "It's just—well…"

She paused.

"I was just wondering why you never answered my note."

"What note?" said Liam blankly.

"The note that I…" began Cass, but her eyes suddenly grew wide.

"Oh, the fire," she said, blushing slightly, "It must have got burned when—I mean, that should have been obvious, I guess I shouldn't have expected—If I had realized—I thought you were just ignoring me, I felt really…"

She shook her head.

"Sorry," she said, "It was my stupid mistake."

"What did it say?" asked Liam.

"It… well, it doesn't matter now," said Cass, still blushing, "I'm just… glad you weren't ignoring it. I thought…"

The band had started a new song. The opening lick to "Paper Planes" was blaring from Exploud's open mouth, and Cass's eyes lit up.

"C'mon," she said, "Let's dance."

Cass took Liam by the arm and almost dragged him to the dance floor. They made an awkward pair, with Liam moving his arms and legs to the music almost reluctantly as Cass danced as enthusiastically as her stiff muscles and unsteady knees would allow. But Liam didn't care. He was glad to be dancing with Cass. He was glad to be dancing with someone he liked, and who had almost admitted that she liked him back.


	57. Chapter 57

It was after 10 o'clock when Miss Snyder forcibly disbanded the Banquet and kicked the remaining students out of the conference room.

"Banquet was supposed to end an hour ago," she insisted to Taylor, who was trying to remonstrate with her, "You need to get out of here so the hotel staff can clean up."

Liam followed the others students as they made a slow and cheerful procession back through the lakeshore gardens and to the lobby where their rides home were waiting. Some of the older students were planning to continue the party elsewhere, but Liam was glad that his group was heading straight back to New Court. He was almost giddy, and he kept glancing at Cass, who was still humming the melody of Paper Planes as she walked next to him. He wondered if he ought to say something to her, to tell her outright what he thought he had been implying all evening. He was almost tired and punchy enough to empty his heart to her right there, but something still held him back. Everything about the evening seemed so unreal, so separate from normal life, and Liam felt that if he couldn't tell Cass he liked her on a normal school morning as easily as on the night of a school dance, he hadn't earned the right to tell her. Not yet.

Liam walked Cass to her ride, but she paused before climbing into the front seat.

"I'm not looking forward to those stairs when I get home," she said.

Liam sensed that she was waiting for something.

"Hey," said Liam, looking around to see if anyone else was paying attention, "I'm sorry about—well, I should've…"

He trailed off. Cass seemed to know where he had been going.

"Want to make it up to me?" she asked playfully.

"Yes," said Liam, almost too eagerly, "I mean, sure. Yes."

"Promise you'll ask me to Banquet next year," she said.

Liam's heart started doing double-time.

"I… I promise," he said.

Cass pulled him into a very long, very tight hug. Behind him, Liam thought he heard Arthur and Liz cheering.

"I think your ride's waiting for you," said Cass, letting him go at last, "Goodnight, Liam."

"Goodnight," said Liam.

He gave a last awkward wave and almost sprinted to his van. He found the others already seated and ready to leave. Mori and Misdreavus had taken the front seat again. She seemed just as delighted with the evening as if she had officially gone with Dustin, and the others were scarcely less jubilant.

"Seems like Liam got to go with Cass after all," chortled Liz.

"Yeah," said Liam with a grin.

He climbed into the back seat, where he found Vasilio and Rebecca partially entangled, with Rebecca's head resting comfortably on her date's shoulder.

"Uh..." said Liam.

"Sorry," said Rebecca, jolting up as if she had only just noticed him, "Vasi, scoot over and make room."

It was too dark inside the van to tell, but Liam thought Vasilio was blushing as the van pulled away from the resort and started back to town.

It started to rain soon after they crossed the outskirts of Everspring, and by the time they reached the second ring road it was pouring.

"Good thing this rain held off until now," said Arthur.

"Makes the ride home more romantic," said Liz, who was messing with Arthur's hair.

"Gross," came Mori's voice from the front seat.

Liam had spent most of the ride looking out the window at the late-night traffic and away from the cuddling couples. Vasilio and Rebecca weren't as bad as Arthur and Liz, but they also weren't even dating—at least so far as Liam knew. He was surprised that Vasilio would accept Rebecca's flirting and cuddling, but he had to admit that if a pretty girl like Rebecca had shown that much interest in him, he wouldn't have had the integrity to turn her down either.

They stopped next to an empty public bus at a traffic light, and Liam noticed that the TV behind the driver's seat was still playing its ads to a nonexistent audience of passengers. Liam liked the ads that played on Nanzo public transport—they were usually selling Pokemon medicine with an almost comical enthusiasm, when they weren't instructing the passengers on how the people of a "civilized region" behaved. Liam tried to catch which ad was playing on the empty bus through the rain, which he didn't recognize. He rubbed the condensation off his own window to try and get a clearer view.

"Um, guys" said Liam suddenly, pointing on the screen, "Look at that."

The others turned in their seats and squinted in the direction he was pointing. The falling rain made it hard to see clearly.

"Is that… Claire?" asked Vasilio.

"Yes," said Mori, positively, "That's her."

The entire van was silent for a moment.

"Why is she on TV?" asked Rebecca.

"Maybe they caught her," put in Liz, but in the front seat, Mori shook her head.

"She's making one of her stupid speeches," said Mori, "She must be at the TV Tower."

"Is that the tall building near the Mudsale Statue?" asked Liam.

"Yes," said Arthur, seriously, "And that's where we're going."

The local driver nodded at Arthur's words, but Liz and Rebecca glanced at each other in alarm.

"You sure, dude?" said Vasilio in a low voice.

"Yeah," said Arthur, "Believe me, we won't be the only ones on our way there."

Mori nodded resolutely.


	58. Chapter 58

The TV Tower was the tallest building on the west side of Everspring by a good margin. It was a sleek, modern building, with a great steel antenna making up almost a third of its total height. Liam had seen the building plenty of times—Bus 77 passed right by it on its way to New Court and White Gardens—but this was the first time he had seen the impressive structure at night. Most of its windows were dark and empty, but red lights flashed on the antenna above to warn planes (and flying Pokemon) to keep their distance. They found the front gate of the TV Tower open. The guard shack was dark and deserted, but they could see light coming from the lobby of the main building.

"Should we wait and see if anyone else will show up?" whispered Liam to Arthur.

"No," he said confidently, "There could be people inside that need our help. Everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

"Let's go," said Mori.

They sprinted through the pouring rain, making for the lighted lobby as quickly as possible. It looked empty, but as the automatic doors closed behind them, Liam spotted two men with painted faces standing guard at the far end, flanked by an Excadrill on their left and a Clawitzer on their right. Liam reached for the Pokeballs on his belt and realized with a moment of panic that he had only brought his Murkrow—his other Pokeballs were lying on his bed at home.

"Um, all I've got is Murkrow," said Liam.

The two Team Power grunts had noticed them now and were grinning through their painted faces.

"Did anyone bring all their Pokemon?" Arthur asked the others.

Everyone shook their heads.

"We can handle this," said Vasilio seriously, "Liam, why don't you—"

"The Excadrill," said Liam, "Murkrow can take it. And—"

"I'll take the Clawitzer," said Mori.

There was an angry fire burning in her eyes Liam hadn't seen since the night attack on the Orphanage.

"Don't you kids know when to quit?" began one of the grunts, but Mori had already sprung into action.

"Missy, Thunderbolt!" she shouted fiercely.

Missy glided forward with a malicious cackle.

"Murkrow, Foul Play!" said Liam.

Murkrow dived at the enemy Excadrill, turning its own attack power against it as Vasilio's Amaura released a blinding beam of ice, The battle was over almost before it had begun, and the grunts were hurriedly collecting their fainted Pokemon and fleeing up the main stairs.

"Well, we took them by surprise," said Vasilio coolly, "We won't be able to do that again."

As he spoke, the automatic doors behind them open and they turned to see Stephanie, August, Taylor, and Rosaline running to escape from the rain. Liam was relieved to see Stephanie had brought her Lucario, and Taylor had a belt full of Pokeballs.

"I'm guessing you guys are here for Team Power too," said Taylor, pushing his soaking hair out of his face.

"Yeah, dude," said Arthur, grinning, "You in?"

"Are you kidding?" said Taylor, "I've been waiting to kick their asses all semester."

"Heck yeah," said Liz.

Stephanie crossed her arms seriously,

"We need to be careful," she said, "Mori, can you send Misdreavus upstairs to take a look?"

"Scout it out for us, Missy," said Mori, and they all watched as Missy drifted upwards through the ceiling.

After a few seconds, she returned, and her gleeful cackle (mostly) assured them that it was safe to launch an attack on the second floor. With Lucario and Exploud leading the way, they started up the stairs and burst through the door to the second floor.

Team Power were ready for them. Perhaps a dozen grunts and their Pokemon had formed a welcoming committee, and launched a flurry of attacks the moment they arrived. Lucario managed to send the first Pokemon it met—a Bastiodon—flying into a barricade of desks, but they were quickly driven back into the stairwell, and they were soon crouching on the landing between floors, trying to come up with a plan to make it through the dangerous chokepoint.

A sudden crashing sound on the floor above and the startled shouts of the Team Power grunts was the cue for a counter attack, and when Liam and his friends stormed back onto the second floor, they found that Ruth's Mega Blaziken and Jonah's Hakamo-o wreaking havoc, throwing wild punches as the rain poured in from outside. The ground was covered with shattered glass. After a few minutes of confused fighting, they claimed the second floor, and Ruth and Jonah had climbed up the main stairs and joined them.

"I saw Claire on a billboard," explained Ruth breathlessly, "They are broadcasting everywhere."

"How did I know we hadn't seen the last of that chick?" said Jonah darkly.

They found the next few floors of the TV Tower empty. As they climbed higher, more and more students joined them. Sylvia arrived just in time to lead the attack on the well-fortified 9th floor, but it was becoming clear that Team Power was running out of Pokemon, and they were getting closer to the broadcasting studio. On the 17th floor, they stopped to make a final plan of attack.

"The broadcasting studio's on the floor above us," said Arthur seriously, "If Claire's still around, she's there. She'll have the best trainers and Pokemon they've got guarding that room."

"We can take 'em," said Liz confidently.

"We need a plan," insisted Arthur, "We need to keep a level head."

"Typical Team Balance wavering," said Liz playfully.

"I think our heavy hitters should break down the door," continued Arthur, "Ruth, Stephanie, Tim, Jonah, that's you guys. Send that door flying off its hinges before they know what hit them."

Ruth nodded.

"Then we'll need our most mobile Pokemon. That's Venomoth, Murkow, Pidgeotto, all our fliers. They need to sweep in and cause as much chaos in that room as possible as soon as the way is clear."

Murkrow cawed eagerly.

"If that works out, some of our glass cannons can make it in and end the fight," Arthur continued, "Vasi, Mori, Rebecca, Rosie, as soon as you've got a clear shot, take it."

"Let's do it," said Rosaline, with a slightly unhinged smile.

They all nodded.


	59. Chapter 59

They crept as silently as possible up the stairs to the 18th floor. Ahead of them, they could hear Claire talking in the same weird monotone she had used back when she had brought Team Power to the school itself. Arthur motioned for Blaziken, Lucario, and Hakamo-o, and Timothy's Toxicroak to take their positions behind the door.

"Everyone ready?" he mouthed.

They all gave the thumbs up. Arthur looked up at Ruth's Mega Blaziken and winked.

BANG!

The door to the broadcast studio all but shattered as their Pokemon stormed the 18th floor. Liam caught the briefest glimpse of Claire standing in front of the TV camera, her eyes wide with shock, before she turned and fled up the stairs. Next to him, he heard Mori give a snarl.

"No!" she shouted, "She's not getting away!"

But as she tried to spring after Claire, Vasilio grabbed her firmly by the arm.

"Get your hands off me!" shouted Mori, digging her fingernails into Vasilio's arm as she tried to wrench herself free.

"No," said Vasilio, looking at her with deadly seriousness, "I'm not letting you get hurt."

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"Mori," said Vasilio, his voice calm and steady, "I can't let you go. I couldn't call myself your friend and let you get yourself killed chasing after Claire."

Mori stared at Vasilio with rage. Behind them, Liam could hear their Pokemon tearing the room apart.

"I hate you," said Mori, but Liam could tell she had accepted defeat. "If Claire gets away because of you, I'll…"

"Come on," called Arthur, "The room is clear. We've gotta catch Claire before she gives us the slip."

They all sprinted after him. The remaining floors of the TV tower were empty, but they didn't stop to search them. Somehow, they all knew where Claire was heading.

"This ladder leads to the roof," said Arthur, "Who's going first?"

They were on the 24th floor. In front of them, a tall metal ladder reached up to hatch in the roof. It was open.

"I will," said Ruth, "I will go first."

Arthur looked a little taken aback, but he didn't try and stop Ruth as she started the long climb. Stephanie went after her, followed closely by Mori. Taylor, Liam, and Vasilio were next. As Liam climbed out onto the huge roof, he gazed in awe at the massive TV antenna with its red lights flashing high above them. Clearly, Claire's words had reached far beyond the city limits of Everspring. Looking around through the darkness and rain, Liam spotted the silhouette of a girl standing on the far edge of the building. She looked as though she were about to jump.

"Claire!" shouted Ruth.

Claire turned around to look at her former classmate. In the swirling rain, Liam could barely make out her expression. But as he drew closer, he noticed that her painted mask had been washed off by the rain, and he could see her face for the first time since that night at the Track. It was a beautiful face. Beautiful, and proud, and afraid. Her eyes were cold, but her lips were trembling, whether from cold or from emotion Liam couldn't tell. Liam caught up with Mori and put his hand on her shoulder. She brushed it off.

"Bisharp," said Claire, "Go!"

The Sword Blade Pokemon stood between them. Liam glanced up at the Murkrow on his shoulder, wondering if he should order it to attack. However, Ruth moved first.

"Blaziken, High Jump Kick!"

With an impact so loud it echoed on the surrounding buildings, Claire's Bisharp slid across the slick roof of the TV Tower and came to rest at her feet, motionless. Ruth recalled her Blaziken and strode towards Claire with her fists clenched. Claire recalled her own Pokemon as she took a step back.

"You," said Ruth, her voice trembling with hurt and rage, "You will stay. You will explain… everything!"

"You don't understand," Liam saw her mouth, but Ruth cut her off.

"Then you will explain what you have done!" she shouted, "You will tell us why!"

Claire looked away from Ruth's accusing stare and toward the open sky over her right shoulder.

"Claire," said Stephanie, in a tone more pleading that Ruth's, "Please. We just want to understand."

Claire shook her head.

"You can't understand," she said.

Liam noticed that her voice sounded human for the first time with her mask stripped away.

"Goodbye," she said, "Friends."

She took a step backwards and fell off the edge of the tower. Liam thought for a second she'd jumped to her death, but then he heard the cry of a bird Pokemon and the flapping of wings. They all ran to the edge.

"Nooo!" screamed Mori, "You coward, you—!"

Looking down, Liam spotted the outline of Claire clinging to the back of her Braviary. She was flying fast; heading north as quickly her Pokemon would carry her. Just as Liam pounded his fist in frustrated defeat, he heard a sound that he recognized.

CHAAAAR!

Silas and his Charizard swept over the TV Tower in pursuit of Claire, followed closely by Fei on her giant kite. The other students cheered and clapped as Silas and Fei bolted after Claire's fleeing form. Mori, however, sunk down to the ground and hid her face in her hands. Vasilio crouched down next to her.

"I'm sorry," he said simply.

"No you're not," she choked, "Stop lying."

Vasilio took off his jacket and draped it over Mori's shoulders.

"I'm not sorry you're alive," he said, "But I'm sorry Claire got away."

"It's your fault," said Mori, "Your fault she got away!"

Vasilio put his arm around Mori and held her tight as she sobbed. To Liam's surprise, she didn't push him away.

"We'll see her again," he said, stroking Mori's hair affectionately, "and next time, she won't get away."

Mori could only nod.


	60. Chapter 60

Liam wasn't too surprised by the crowd of people that met them at the bottom of the TV Tower. Some of them he had expected: Cass was there, and so was Miss Snyder, looking unusually cross. Others he hadn't. Tobias, the Ghost-type gym leader, was staring at them with a peculiar look on his face that may have been admiration. Arthur and Sylvia's father, Commissioner Liu, broke into laughter as he saw their haggard forms emerging from the automatic doors.

"Arthur, Sylvia," he said, "I guess you've got it all cleared up, eh? No point in me even showing up."

He clapped his children heartily on the shoulders.

"Ah, to be young, fearless, and very, very stupid," he said eboliently, "Sergeant, go ahead and search the building; there should be no trouble."

A man in a black police uniform saluted Mr. Liu and motioned for a team of officers and Growlithes to proceed into the lobby.

"I should arrest all of you for the worry you've caused us," Mr. Liu said teasingly, "But, I don't think I will. Your mother would be disappointed if I didn't bring you home."

Liam secretly felt relieved, but wondered whether being arrested by Mr. Liu would be better than facing the wrath of Miss Snyder.

"Arthur Liu!" she thundered, "I should make you resign! What were you thinking, leading an unsupervised student attack on the TV Tower?"

"Are you guys okay?" asked Cass, who was soaked through but looked pleased, "I saw the thing on the news and came here with the others, but I couldn't climb up all those stairs, so I just watched from down here—is anybody hurt? Was that Claire that almost fell off the building—I saw her and I thought maybe—well, I'm glad you're not hurt, that's good. Did she get away?"

"I think she did," said Taylor, shivering in the night air, "That Braviary's pretty fast. They'll chase her all the way outta Nanzo, but I don't think they'll catch her."

"So that's it?" asked Cass, "I mean, Team Power are done for good now, right? What were they even thinking, trying to take over the TV Tower?"

"I can answer that," said a gravelly voice.

They turned and saw Werner, leaning on his cane and holding an umbrella in the other hand. His wrinkled face looked grave.

"Did any of you stop to listen to what Claire was saying on her broadcast?" he asked pointedly.

They all shook their heads.

"She was announcing that Team Power had overthrown the Pokemon League in the other regions, and that only by submitting to her Team Power would Nanzo be spared."

"But she's… lying, right, Professor?" said Cass.

Werner shook his head.

"The last gym in Shizo was captured early this morning," he explained, "Team Balance are scattered and the gym leaders are in hiding. All across Dongzo, they're tearing down statues of the Old Master, the Enlightened One, and Grandmaster Kong, the founders of Truth, Balance, and Virtue. I doubt we'll be seeing much more of the League Champion in the near future."

The was a woosh of leathery black wings. They all looked up and saw Silas dismounting his black Charizard and landing effortlessly next to Professor Werner.

"True enough, Professor," said Silas seriously, "But let's give the Everspring kids their due. They've done a lot to hold off Team Power in Nanzo, and not just tonight.'  
"What happened to Claire?" asked Mori.

"She's heading straight to Shizo," said Silas, taking off his sunglasses and hanging them from his shirt collar, "And that's where I've got to be in the morning. I didn't know being League Champion was mainly a travelling gig. I haven't faced a challenger in weeks."

"Things aren't yet at their worst, I assure you," said Werner.

"I know," said Silas, running a hand through his spiked blonde hair, "You can be such a downer, Professor. We've got a lot to appreciate tonight."

He looked around admiringly at the Everspring students.

"I remember things that most people don't," said Werner, "But…"

He shrugged, and shook his head.

"We'll take things as they come."

"You're going soft, Professor," said Silas, winking at Werner, "I'm heading back to the Tubon Plateau for the night. Fei's gonna follow Claire as far as she can. I'll keep you guys updated."

Werner nodded silently.

"Tell your dad hi from me," said Silas to Mori, and without another word, he remounted his black Charizard and disappeared into the rainy darkness overhead.

"You put ample fear into the hearts of Team Power this night," said Tobias with a cruel smile.

Liam jumped. He hadn't heard Tobias approach.

"Not enough," said Mori.

"Regret is for the dead," said Tobias, looking at Mori with his weird, unblinking stare, "The living may yet make things right."

"What does that even mean?" asked Mori impatiently.

"Fate is the deepest mystery," said Tobias in his weird intonation, "But as long as you live and your enemy lives, your destinies our bound together. Even the long dead cannot say how it will all end."

"I think he's just sayin' cool-sounding nonsense," said Taylor with a grin, "You guys wanna start back to New Court? Believe it not, I wanna sleep."

They all agreed. As they started for the front entrance of the TV Tower, Tobias called Mori back.

"Hanako," he said seriously, "Do not let her haunt your mind. Her hold on your soul is still strong. Prepare for your next meeting, but deny her the pleasure weighing down your spirit with her words."

"It's not that easy," said Mori, avoiding the gym leader's staring eyes, "It hurts, Tobias."

Tobias smiled, brushing Mori's wet hair out of her face with a black-gloved hand.

"You are stronger, and braver than she is," he said, dropping his highly affected manner for a brief moment, "Do not forget that."

"Mori!" called Vasilio, "You coming back with us?"

"Do your friends need a ride?" asked Tobias.

Mori's eyes lit up.

"Really?" she said.

"I have room for four," said the gym leader, curling his lip, "Be quick."


	61. Chapter 61

Liam's impression that Tobias, despite being a gym leader, wasn't exactly a rule-follower was confirmed on their wild ride back to New Court. The car swerved and screeched around corners and raced down the mostly-empty streets, its underglow pulsing to the industrial music blaring from Tobias' speakers. Liam, Mori, Vasilio, and Cass were thrown from one side of the car to the other as Tobias' black-gloved fingers jerked the wheel with a mixture of precision and flamboyance. Just as Liam was feeling that he couldn't take much more, they skidded to a halt at the front gate of New Court. Liam staggered out of the back seat and just managed to help a very shaken Cass out of the front when Tobias did a u-turn and sped back in the opposite direction, his pounding music echoing through the street as his car disappeared into the distance.

"That was awesome," said Mori, her eyes wide.

"Whatever you say," said Vasilio, rubbing the spot where his forehead had collided with the backseat window.

"You guys gonna wait for the others to get back?" asked Liam.

Mori face fell and she shook her head.

"I'm probably in trouble already," she said glumly.

"I'll walk back with you," said Vasilio, "Liam, will you make sure Cass gets home?"

"Yes, he will," said Cass, taking Liam's arm.

Aside from the occasional swarm of Zubats chittering overhead, New Court was completely silent. The rain had finally stopped, and Liam enjoyed the slow, quiet walk back to Cass's apartment. He felt a weird sense of elation, and he was happy just to be walking with Cass without saying anything at all.

"Here we are," said Cass, letting go of Liam's arm, "You know, it's kind of funny. The last time you walked me back home was…"

"When Chelsea's Scraggy died," said Liam.

"Yeah," said Cass, "Wow. That seems like such a long time ago."

"It does," said Liam.

Cass gave a contented sigh.

"See you on Monday?" ventured Liam.

"Yeah," said Cass, "Goodnight."

Liam wasn't surprised by the long, tight hug Cass gave him before starting up to her house, but he treasured it all the same.


	62. Chapter 62

Liam looked up at the list of candidates for the next year's student government elections outside the guidance counselor's office. Miss Snyder had pinned them up that morning, but Liam had waited until the initial rush had passed to check the names at his leisure. Jonah was running for class rep again, and Ruth was running unopposed as secretary. Glancing over the paper, he spotted what he had been looking for. Under "Study Body President," he saw two familiar names: Sylvia Liu and Cass McCloud.

"This is gonna be crazy," said Taylor, stopping to look at the names on the list over Liam's shoulder, "Between those two."

Liam nodded.

"Well, maybe not as hard for you," said Taylor, smirking.

"Hey," protested Liam, "Sylvia's from my class. I've got loyalties both ways."

Liam had wondered whether the campaign would be a time of renewed tension in the student body after the release provided by Spring Banquet, and the attack on the TV Tower, but to his surprise, it was nothing of the kind. There were no whisper campaigns, no lobbying, no strained remarks or heating discussions. The study body appeared to be pleased by having two excellent choices for president, and expressed frustration mainly at being unable to choose between Sylvia and Cass. The other girls in Liam's class (apart from the apolitical Mori) formed the core of Sylvia's supporters, while Liz, Rebecca, and the other 10th and 11th grade girls comprised Cass's voting base. However, nearly every other student fell firmly in the undecided middle.

"So, who are you gonna vote for?" Sylvia asked Liam at lunch on the day before the election.

"Oh, don't do this," said Liam, "Can I vote for you both? Is that allowed?"

"No, not allowed," Sylvia grinned, "You know, you should really vote for the person you think is most qualified for the position, not the person you think is the prettiest."

"Leave him alone, Sylv," said Vasilio, "Liam will vote with his brain, not with his eyes."

"So who are you voting for, Vasi?" asked Sylvia, leaning over the table towards him.

"That's my secret," said Vasilio, shooting a glance at Liam.

"So, whoever Rebecca tells you to vote for," said Sylvia, leaning back in mock satisfaction, "Got it."

"I'm going to vote for whoever doesn't try to guilt me into voting for them," countered Vasilio as Liam snorted.

On election day, Liam did his best to avoid both Cass and Sylvia. He still hadn't chosen who to vote for, and he was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. He clapped as loudly as he could after each of their speeches in the afternoon assembly, and then spent several agonizing minutes wavering between the two names.

"Liam," said Vasilio, "You coming? We've still got class with Huang."

Liam nodded and, with a wince, circled Sylvia's name and dropped his ballot into the box.

Liam tried to be the first to see the list of winners posted on the announcements board the next morning, but he found another mob of students blocking his view. As he stood on tiptoe to get a better look, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Have you seen it yet?" asked Cass, "I'm so nervous."

"Nope," said LIam, "I can't get to the—."

"Cass!" called a student from the front, "You won! You're president!"

Cass gave an embarrassed smile as the students around her cheered and clapped. Liam felt relieved. He'd voted with his brain and seen the girl he liked win too. But before he could congratulate Cass, the crowd of students had descended on her, pushing Liam aside with their high fives and embraces. Liam found himself standing awkwardly at the edge of the group, occasionally trying to push his way to Cass with little effect. By the time the other students started clearing away, it was time for class, and Liam barely managed to mumble congratulations to Cass before he was sprinting to Rollon's classroom.

Liam didn't feel very hungry at lunchtime. He picked tepidly at the toothpick meat, corn & soybeans, and roasted potatoes Vasilio had ordered to celebrate their last school day before final exams started the next week.

"Go ahead," said Liam, noticing his Sneasel staring hungrily at the meat on his plate.

"You okay?" asked Mori through a mouthful of potatoes.

"Yeah," said Liam, poking listlessly at his rice, "I just…. Nevermind."

Vasilio raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, come on," said Mori, fixing her large, dark eyes on Liam, "Tell us what's up."

"It's…. It's stupid," said Liam, "You don't want to—"

"Spit it out, dork," said Mori, giving Liam's shoulder a hard flick.

"Okay," said Liam with a sigh, "I didn't get to congratulate Cass about winning the election because there were too many people around, and I'm worried I'll see even less of her next year once she becomes president."

"Are you two official yet?" asked Mori.

"No," said Liam.

Mori rolled her eyes.

"Liam," she said, "Get Cass by herself and say 'I like you, I want you to be my girlfriend' and all your problems are solved. Vasi, back me up."

Vasilio took a long sip of tea.

"She's right," he said as he set down his cup, "Why don't you come to Youth Group this week and talk to her afterwards?"

"That sounds terrible," said Liam, crossing his arms defensively, "How did this end up with people trying to drag me to Youth Group again, anyways?"

Sneasel jabbed Liam in the neck.

"Ow! Whose side are you on?"

"Sneasel wants you to get out of your comfort zone and take some freakin' initiative," said Mori, "Liam, c'mon, you know she likes you. It's incredibly obvious. You just need to make it official, and she's yours."

Vasilio nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which," said Liam, "Vasilio, what's up with you and Rebecca?"

"What do you mean?" said Vasilio suspiciously.

"Oh my god," said Mori, rolling her eyes, "Vasi, don't try that with us. Are you just leading her on?"

"No," said Vasilio, as if that ended the discussion.

"Uh huh," said Mori, looking up at Misdreavus and shaking her head, "Boys. They're all hopeless."

"We're going to Santiago's next Saturday, okay?" said Vasilio, running his hand through his white hair in agitation, "Is that what you wanted?"

"Well, you did just make me lose a bet with Annalise," said Mori with a shrug, "But, I'm glad you're taking that relationship somewhere."

"I'm just seeing how things go," said Vasilio cautiously.

"Vasi, you're going on a date at Everspring Academy," said Mori, "You might as well be engaged to her."

Liam snorted. He felt a bit more like eating, and snatched the last toothpick of meat from his bowl before Sneasel could devour it. He didn't mention it to his friends, but Liam resolved to talk to Cass before school ended. He had a week and a day. A chance would pop up somewhere.


	63. Chapter 63

Liam's first round of final exams at Everspring International Pokemon Academy was a grueling experience. Not every test was a challenge, but the ones that were took everything out of him. Rollon's literature final kept him writing to last minute. Wort's PokeBiology test made Liam feel like he had somehow forgotten every lab he'd done all semester, and although he managed to scribble something in every blank, he wasn't fully confident in any of it. Werner's final was, as expected, the most challenging of all. Liam struggled through mental calculations of Speed IVs and did his best to remember the effects of obscure Pokemon abilities, all while Werner patrolled the room with a scowl.

By Thursday, however, all the hardest exams were done. Battle Class would take up most of the morning, but it would mostly involve watching others battle while he waited to take on Jonah. All he had the next day was Huang's class, and he felt pretty confident in his ability to groom and feed Eevee, even under exam conditions. As Liam stepped through the school's main gate and waved good morning to the guard's Mightyena, he noticed Cass sitting by the tent where the younger students had lunch. She looked deeply agitated, and Liz and Rebecca seemed to be comforting her. Liam paused, unsure if he should walk over to her, but Cass noticed and called to him..

"Liam," she said, "I…"

Cass shuddered and took a deep breath. Liam noticed at once that she had been crying. He had never seen Cass cry before. Even at the Pokemon Center when Chelsea's Scraggy died, she had been calm and collected. He felt a sense of doom that he couldn't quite understand or control.

"Uh… what is it?" Liam asked awkwardly.

Cass took another deep breath, shook her head, and looked up at Liam.

"I'm not coming back next year," she choked.

Liam almost jumped. The sense of dread turned into a painful emptiness in his chest.

"What?" he stammered.

"My dad… well, he's getting transferred back to Unova," she explained, avoiding Liam's eyes in a way that made his heart hurt, "We're moving to Castelia City in three weeks. I thought—I mean, I knew moving back was always something that could happen, but I was hoping... I liked it so much here, and…"

She covered her face with her hands. Liam didn't know what to say. Rebecca put her arm around her friend.

"Liam," said Cass, wiping her eyes and straightening herself, "I know you don't… come to Youth Group, but… could you come, just once? There's a going-away party for everyone that's leaving tomorrow, and…"

"Yeah," said Liam, almost in a whisper, "I'll come."

Cass pulled Liam into one of the tight, bony-armed hugs he'd become so used to over the past few months.

"I've… well, I need to go talk to Christine," said Cass, letting him go, "Tell her I can't be president next year."

Liam nodded seriously and watched as Cass started towards the main school building, accompanied by Rebecca and Liz. He couldn't think of anything to say or do that would make anything better. And he was hurting, He looked around for someone to talk to, but he couldn't see anyone. He didn't want to go to his exam, but he didn't have a choice. With a heavy heart, he began the walk towards the school atrium. He kept his eyes on his feet.

"Liam."

Liam looked up and saw Mori. She was looking at him with deep concern.

"Cass is leaving," Liam mumbled.

"I know, I just found out," said Mori, "Liam, I…"

"You were right," said Liam, "I dragged my feet for too long, and now… I guess it's too late."

Liam looked down at his feet again. He knew Mori was still looking at him, but he couldn't focus on anything. All he could feel numbness. Numbness, slowly turning into rage.

"It's not…" he breathed, "It's not fair. Why does the stupid Unovan government have to ruin everything? Why do people have to be dragged from one side of the world to the other, just because…"

Liam shook his head. He felt the overwhelming urge to punch something.

"I'm sorry," said Mori.

"Don't you have any answers?" Liam snapped at Mori, "You who know everything about relationships?"

Mori crossed her arms.

"I know relationships always hurt," said Mori seriously, "And they almost never work out, and losing people is something everyone has to deal with, but some of us have lost a lot more than others. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Liam looked up at Mori, but he felt his anger fading at the sight of the pain in her eyes.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm… just angry."

"Liam," said Mori, "I don't want to compare my life to yours. I'm not trying to compare scars and tell you whose is worse."

Liam chuckled at the reference.

"But I've been looking for my sister ever since I found out about her," Mori continued, "And I don't even know what her name is. I can't remember what she looks like. Most days, it doesn't hurt as much as you're hurting now. But losing someone that you love, someone that you want to be with desperately but can't have... I understand that. Believe it or not, we all do."

Mori jerked her head towards the other students in the school atrium.

"Cass wants me to go to the Youth Group thing tomorrow night," said Liam.

"Then do it," said Mori, "And you'll have a double excuse: Rain is leaving too."

"Really?" said Liam, a little taken aback.

"Yeah," said Mori, trying her best not to look too pleased, "You really don't keep up on the school rumor mill, do you? Unfortunately, she's not going too far. Her family is moving to Hempshear, which is like, I don't know, maybe three hours away? But she won't be here next year."

"Our class really can't hang on to students," said Liam.

"No kidding," said Mori, looking over her shoulder as Coach Tang's whistle sounded, "Ick, finals. Wish me luck."

"I think we'll both need it," said Liam, "At least I'm going into my battle royally pissed off."

"You just imagine you're fighting the Unovan Consular General, and I'll imagine I'm fighting Claire, and we'll both get A's," said Mori playfully.

Liam laughed. His heart felt a little lighter as he joined the others students crowded around Coach Tang. He felt like a good Pokemon battle. It would do him good.


	64. Chapter 64 & Epilogue

Liam had hoped to never make the climb up to the apartment that hosted the Everspring foreign Youth Group, but on this night he was especially apprehensive. He hadn't seen Cass since their conversation the morning before, and he was still unsure about what he should say to her when he saw her. Nothing but his promise to Cass kept him from abandoning his resolution at the last moment.

As he followed Vasilio and Mori up the dark, steep stairwell, he twisted his hands nervously. Above him, Liam heard the rumble of loud music playing from a powerful speaker system and finally saw the orangish light emanating from the Youth Group's open door. Liam ducked sheepishly past the older students who were chatting outside and joined his friends in adding their shoes to the enormous pile just inside the room. Only when his shoes were carefully deposited did Liam take in the room itself.

The Youth room was about the size of a normal Nanzo apartment if all the walls had been knocked down and bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and living room were consolidated into a single open space. This, Liam reminded himself, was probably exactly what had happened. An empty (but clearly usually Rotom-powered) disco ball hung from the ceiling of the central carpeted space. In an elevated alcove on the room's far end, Liam saw a drum set, keyboard, and a few music stands and microphones. A sign above them read "NO POKEMON BATTLES" in huge blue letters. The room was furnished with decrepit-looking sofas, chairs, and beanbags, with one spindly pool table next to a sliding door leading out to a small balcony.

A folding table near the apartment's kitchenette was stacked high with boxes marked "Wang's Pizzeria," which made Liam perk up a bit. He stuck close to Vasilio and Mori as they helped themselves to pizza, introduced Liam to the youth leaders, and settled into three rather ratty and uncomfortable beanbags near the door. Liam kept a vigilant lookout for Cass, hoping to catch her before she was snatched away by the other students. When she finally did arrive, flanked closely by Liz and Taylor, Liam started to stand up and call to her, but he was already too late. A swarm of older students had already claimed her, and Liam was forced to watch from a distance as she smiled and hugged older students he barely knew. Just as the crowd was finally starting to die down, one of the youth leaders grabbed Cass and brought her to the front of the room as one of the nights honored departing guests. Liam sunk sullenly into his beanbag, He would have to wait to say hello.

Liam sat impatiently through most of the night's proceedings, He didn't much like singing, and the testimonials, charges, and farewell gifts to the departing students seemed to go on forever. Liam just wanted to talk to Cass, but was forced to settle for listening to others talk about her. He was keenly reminded of just how popular Cass was, and started to feel almost like a stranger as he heard story after story about last year.

At last, Arthur stood up and closed out the formal proceedings with a prayer. The students were released to mingle and, for many of them, dance. Liam and his friends cleared the main floor as quickly as possible to avoid being trampled by the impromptu dance party, but their little group didn't stay together for long. Mori ditched them to join Dustin, Annalise, and the rest of their crew around the pool table. A moment later, Vasilio excused himself to go ask Taylor about something. Liam was on his own.

Liam tried to get to Cass, but she was surrounded by a tight-knit group of older students and adults and Liam couldn't seem to catch her eye. He paced around the edge of the group, hoping someone would notice him, but to no avail. Feeling deeply frustrated, Liam decided to find his friends again, but even they were now out of reach. Mori was leaning against the pool table, gazing up at Dustin with a dreamlike expression. He was telling a story to his crew in a low mumble as they gave approving sniggers. Liam knew he would have no chance of getting Mori's attention under those conditions. Vasilio, meanwhile, had joined Taylor, Arthur, and Rebecca in an impromptu concert in a far corner of the room. Liam walked over and listened to them for a few minutes, but it was all the same "street songs" he had heard a dozen times before. He glanced back at Cass. She was still surrounded by friends, still laughing, still smiling. She still hadn't noticed him. Nobody seemed to notice him. All Liam wanted to do was escape.

Liam let himself out through a sliding glass door onto the apartment's balcony and leaned on the railing, watching the faraway red and white lights of cars and signs and apartments. He breathed in the cool night air. He felt alone, and frustrated, and like he was nobody. Coming to the party was a mistake, he decided. All it did was remind him that he was a second-class part of the community; an outsider to memories and relationships he couldn't share or understand.

Liam had been alone for about ten minutes when he heard the glass door slide open behind him. He didn't look back; he honestly didn't care who it was, but also secretly hoped they would notice how miserable he was. To his surprise, he felt someone leaning over the railing next to him.

"Are you okay, Liam?" asked Cass.

Liam looked at her, feeling confused.

"Yeah," he stuttered, "Or, no, but… it's nothing. Just too many people."

Cass looked at him with an expression he knew very well.

"I guess it is a lot of people," she said, "I'm glad you came, though. This is the place I'm gonna be the most sad to leave. I've made so many good friends here."

"Yeah," said Liam, wondering if he really was one of them.

"I'm gonna miss some people a lot," said Cass, looking directly into his eyes. Liam felt his heart racing.

"I'm gonna miss you," he mumbled, "You're… you're one of the best friends I've made here. I always forget that people come and go so much."

"It's the price we pay," said Cass, smiling bitterly, "We don't always get to the things we wanted to do, or say the things we wanted to say. You hope people will be in your life forever and then…"

She trailed off. To his amazement, Liam felt her hand close around his hand as it sat on the railing. He froze.

"If we had just been two normal Unovan high schoolers," she continued, but then she laughed, "But then I guess you wouldn't have been you, and I wouldn't have been me."

"I'm… glad you're you," said Liam.

Liam felt Cass's head getting closer to his. He thought she was leaning onto his shoulder, but to Liam's amazement Cass closed her eyes and pressed her lips awkwardly against his. His hands began to tremble.

"Sorry," she said, pulling away suddenly and blushing, "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have…"

"No, it's okay," said Liam, trying to make sense of the storm of feelings inside him, "I just… it makes me sad. Sad to think, I mean, that we couldn't..."

"I know," said Cass.

They stood looking silently out at the city for a few minutes.

"I'm gonna go back inside," said Cass, "You can stay out here if you want."

She gave his hand a squeeze.

"I think I will," said Liam, "Thanks."

"Mmhmm," she said. After fumbling slightly with the sliding door, she disappeared back into the crowded room.

Liam walked back home in the quiet dark of the late night with his Sneasel perched on his shoulder. He was a mess of emotions, in that strange ecstasy that tiredness, loss, and the end of something brings. His Sneasel was enjoying the night air, its eyes darting after every Rattata that scurried into the shadows and every Zubat that swooped overhead. When they made it back to White Gardens, Liam didn't go up to his house right away. Instead, he sat down on a bench in the park area in the center of the neighborhood. After sitting silently for a moment, he put his face in his hands and started to cry.

"I hate it," choked Liam, "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. It's not fair."

His Sneasel crawled down off his shoulder and stood next to him on the bench, looking up with concern.

"I just," Liam continued, "I just wanted to… to hold her hand… and… and to tell people that she was my…"

He groaned angrily.

"She's amazing," he said, after a few minutes of silent tears, "and now she's gonna leave, and I'll never see her again."

His Sneasel cocked its head slightly.

"Okay," said Liam, "Okay, so I'll see her on Monday, but what's the good of that? I barely see her at school most days, and everyone else will be hogging her, and…"

"Snee!"

His Sneasel gave him a small jab with its claws.

"Look, I'm not like you," he protested, "I can't just…"

Liam sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Okay," he said, finally, "Okay, I'll do it."

His Sneasel growled contently.

The next Monday, Liam turned the corner towards the main gate of the school with his heart racing. His eyes darted around, not sure whether he was hoping to see Cass waiting from him or not. He was so anxious and distracted that he always walked right past where she was sitting on a ledge a few meters from the main gate.

"Liam!" she called.

Liam jumped slightly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't see… did you get my… I mean, I sent you a…"

"I got it," she said, smiling, "I got it, and it was the most TCKish thing I have ever read, but at the same time it sounded like a perfectly wonderful idea."

She took Liam's hand as she lifted herself off the ledge, and didn't let go.

"For today," she said, "You're my boyfriend. And people can laugh at us all they like."

"Okay," said Liam, his hands trembling, "Ready to make fools of ourselves?"

"Let's do it."

Liam Holbrook and Cass McCleod walked through the main gate holding hands for the first and last time. Spring was over, summer was buzzing in the air, and Liam was very, very happy that he had moved to Everspring City.

End of semester 1.

**Epilogue**

Liam hadn't opened the chest he brought with him from Johto much since the move the previous winter. But on the first morning of summer vacation, something about it caught his attention, and he resolved to finally unpack it. He dug through old journals, half-remembered toys, and carelessly-preserved school assignments, spreading the artifacts of his past life over the floor of his room as his Sneasel watched curiously from atop his bookshelf. The chest smelled faintly like the salty air of Olivine City, and the trinkets reminded him of mornings spent at the foot of the Glitter Lighthouse, watching its bright beams fade with the coming of daylight. As Liam dug deeper, he stumbled on something else: his old Pokegear. He looked at it curiously, wondering if it even still worked.

"What do you think?" he asked his Eevee, who was basking in the late morning sunshine.

"Vee!" purred Eevee.

Liam opened the PokeGear and saw the dusty screen come to life.

"Huh," said Liam, "I guess it's probably not any use here."

Outside his room, Liam heard the heavy trot and jingling collar of the family Furfrou passing by on its way to his parents' bedroom.

"Murk," cawed his Murkrow, which was perched on the railing of his bed's top bunk.

"Crap, you're right," said Liam, "I told Vasi and Mori I'd meet them at the New Court fountain for lunch."

Liam put on a light jacket and pocketed his Pokedex, but just as he was about to leave, he took another look at his PokeGear, Without a word, he pocketed it as well, recalled Murkrow and Eevee to their Pokeballs, and set out for New Court with Sneasel perched on his right shoulder.

"What's that?" asked Mori.

Liam, Vasilio, and Mori were sitting on the edge of New Court's dry fountain, and Liam had just taken out his find from the morning.

"It's my old Pokegear," said Liam, feeling somewhat embarrassed, "I was wondering, actually, if… uh…"

They looked at him curiously.

"Could I have your phones numbers?" asked Liam.

Vasilio and Mori both looked at him with astonishment.

"Are you okay?" asked Mori, feeling Liam's forehead, "This year's finally cracked you, huh?"

"Could be he's possessed," suggested Vasilio with a smirk, "Let's get a Silph Scope and—"

"Guys!" said Liam, holding up his hands defensively, "I'm not sick, I'm not crazy, and I'm not possessed, I just…"

He shrugged lamely,

"Don't question it, enjoy it."

Mori and Vasilio looked at each other and laughed.

"Okay, okay," said Mori, "But if you start being unpredictable, I might have to find new friends. I need the stability."

"I'll use my newfound power to get you to come with us to the skatepark on Friday," said Vasilio, holding up his phone to show Liam his number, "Do you have a skateboard?'

"Nope," said Liam, "Just a scooter."

"That'll work," said Mori, "You'll look lame, but it'll work."

...

Claire pushed her way past the Team Power grunts guarding the Grandmaster's office. They knew better than to question her, but they still looked at her a little uncertainly. She didn't knock as she opened the door; inside, she found the Grandmaster of Team Power sitting in his ornate chair behind a desk of dark wood. He wore an embroidered white suit and a golden mask in the Beizo opera style. His hair and eyes were dark. Claire sunk into the small chair in front of him without looking at him.

"It wasn't my fault," she began, but the Grandmaster raised a hand.

"Team Power doesn't ask for explanations, or excuses," he said, "We punish failure, and we learn from it."

Claire nodded, wringing her hands in her lap.

"Those grunts you gave me were worthless," she muttered.

"Your pointless ventures in petty revenge against your former classmates jeopardized our mission far more than they did."

Claire crossed her arms and looked away.

"We'll act differently next time," The Grandmaster continued, "The Pokemon League has fallen everywhere but the Nanzo Region. I will concentrate our efforts there this autumn. They will be made to recognize Team Power in time."

"What will we do?"

"We will do nothing," said the Grandmaster, "I'm sending you west to hunt down the remaining gym leaders we haven't captured. I'll deal with Nanzo myself."

"Dad..." began Claire, but the Grandmaster interrupted her.

"We have nothing else to discuss," he said.

Claire nodded resignedly and rose slowly from her chair.

"I trust you will have no problems in tracking down the gym leaders," said the Grandmaster pointedly.

Claire sighed and looked away.

"I did my best," she muttered.

"Do better," her father replied.

Claire nodded and left the room without a word, biting her tongue to distract herself from the silent tears pouring down her face.


End file.
